On Monday, jurors in the social media addiction trial told the court that they are struggling to agree on a verdict involving one of the defendants.

Jury Signals Deadlock After Weeklong Deliberations

The panel did not specify whether the impasse concerns Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google or Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), Reuters reported.

The jury has been deliberating for more than a week in a case centered on allegations that platforms such as YouTube and Instagram contributed to a young woman's addiction beginning at an early age.

Judge Warns Of Possible Mistrial

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Carolyn B Kuhl urged jurors to continue discussions and reach a decision if possible.

However, she acknowledged that failure to come to a unanimous verdict could force the case to be retried with a new jury.

Google and Meta did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comments.

NYC Lawsuit Targets Meta, Alphabet And Others

In a separate case filed last year, New York City sued several major tech companies — including Meta, TikTok-parent ByteDance, Alphabet and Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) — alleging they contributed to a youth mental health crisis through addictive social media platforms, while accusing them of gross negligence and creating a public nuisance.

Previously, the Federal Trade Commission also launched a probe into the possible harms AI chatbots may pose to children and teens, including those deployed by Meta, Google and Snapchat.

Price Action: Meta shares are up 0.17% in after-hours trading, reaching $605.40. During the same period, Alphabet Class A shares were down 0.17% and Class C shares gained 0.023%, reaching $301.70 and $299.09, respectively.

Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings indicate that GOOG stock is underperforming in the short and mid-term, but shows strong long-term upside backed by a Quality score in the 95th percentile.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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