ENFIELD, CT. (WGGB/WSHM) - A jury found Meta and YouTube liable in Enfield Connecticut mom Tammy Rodriguez’s lawsuit against the parent companies of the social media giants.

The ruling affirmed Rodriguez’s claims that the platforms are designed to be harmful and addictive to children.

It’s the first trial verdict in a social media addiction case against major tech companies, part of a consolidated group of lawsuits involving more than 1,600 plaintiffs, including hundreds of families and school districts.

The trial in California began last month and included testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other tech executives.

Rodriguez, the lead plaintiff in the case, filed suit in 2022 after her 11-year-old daughter Selena died by suicide in 2021. Rodriguez said Selena was struggling with extreme social media addiction.

“It’s heartbreaking because this was a jury that saw through and saw that these social media companies are doing it on purpose and the way I see it they have our kids blood on their hands,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said the verdict is just the beginning — not just for her, but for families nationwide. She said the most important part was what came out in court: internal documents she believes prove these platforms knew kids could get hooked.

“The verdict didn’t make a difference to us, the big was that those documents have come out, there out there you can’t delete the,” Rodriguez said. “So much blame is put on the parents, I will never ever take blame for what the social media companies did on purpose the documents are there right in there.”

Rodriguez said she plans to keep fighting for change locally while continuing to honor Selena’s memory.

“These are Selena’s peers and they are going through this, and I don’t see anything happening locally, any word getting put out there and it needs to be and I’m willing to help get that word out there,” Rodriguez said.

She urged parents and guardians to talk with their kids about the risks of social media so other families don’t experience the heartbreak she has.

“You have to be able to have those conversations open honest don’t sugar coat it has to be raw and ugly unfortunately because that’s what they are facing,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said her case will also be heard in a federal court in California; however, no date has been set.

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