Today’s verdict is a seminal moment in the yearslong effort to hold Big Tech accountable for the harms caused by their intentional design choices. A jury of American consumers reviewed the evidence and concluded plainly that Instagram and YouTube made deliberate decisions to prioritize shareholder value over user safety, and that those decisions have consequences.
When companies make intentional decisions about how products are built, they must be held responsible for the foreseeable consequences of those choices – whether those companies are social media platforms or building generative AI products.
In November 2025, Tech Justice Law (TJL) and Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC) co-filed seven cases in California state court on behalf of families of individuals who died by suicide allegedly induced by OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4o, as well as survivors who suffered delusional disorders, involuntary psychiatric commitment, professional reputational harm, and financial losses. We believe these harms were the direct and predictable result of intentional design choices by OpenAI and that OpenAI must be held accountable.
“Today’s decision in the CA JCCP Social Media Cases makes it clear once again that Americans can plainly see that tech corporations are making specific design choices about their tech products that are harming our communities to benefit their bottomline. Profits will continue to be prioritized over human lives and wellbeing until Big Tech faces real accountability. Regardless of the specific tech product, it is these choices and their resulting impacts that tech corporations must be held accountable for,” said Meetali Jain Director & Founder Tech Justice Law (TJL).
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TECH JUSTICE LAW (“TJL”) is a pioneering strategic litigation and advocacy organization bringing justice to communities harmed by tech products. TJL co-filed the first-ever, groundbreaking lawsuits against a popular, “AI” chatbot product developed by Character AI, with support by Google, raising public awareness of chatbots’ real-world harms. TJL’s cases and advocacy have also focused government attention on harmful AI products, including unlicensed therapy chatbots. TJL brings together legal experts, policy advocates, digital rights organizations, and technologists to ensure that our legal protections are fit for the digital age.