March 25 (Reuters)- - Recent jury verdicts in California

and New Mexico involving Meta Platforms ( META ) and Alphabet's

Google are sharpening scrutiny of social media

companies as plaintiffs advance legal theories aimed at holding

platforms liable for harm to children. Here's a look at how the

cases could be an early test of how courts may handle similar

claims going forward.

WHAT DID THE LOS ANGELES JURY FIND?

The jury ordered Meta and Google on Wednesday to pay a combined

$6 million in damages to plaintiff Kaley G.M., a 20-year-old who

said she suffered from depression and suicidal thoughts after

becoming addicted to the companies' platforms at a young age

because of their attention-grabbing design. The jury found that

both Meta and Google were negligent in designing their

platforms and failed to warn consumers about their risks.

WHAT HAPPENED IN NEW MEXICO?

Separately, a jury in New Mexico on Tuesday ordered Meta to pay

$375 million after finding the company misled users about the

safety of Facebook and Instagram while enabling child sexual

exploitation on those platforms in a lawsuit brought by the

state's attorney general.

WHY ARE THESE TRIALS IMPORTANT?

The trials were the first to test whether Big Tech can be

held liable for the design of apps blamed for harming young

people's wellbeing. Meta, Snapchat and parent Snap Inc. ( SNAP )

, Google's YouTube, and TikTok and parent ByteDance are

facing thousands of lawsuits in federal and state courts over

claims they knowingly designed their platforms with features

that addict children and teens, fueling a mental health crisis.

WHAT DOES THE VERDICT MEAN FOR OTHER LAWSUITS?

The Los Angeles trial is meant to serve as a bellwether, or

test case, for the thousands of similar lawsuits consolidated in

California state courts. Verdicts in bellwethers are often used

by judges and attorneys to assess the potential value of

remaining claims and guide settlement negotiations. Typically,

multiple bellwethers will be tried before a broader settlement

or resolution is reached.

WHAT OTHER KINDS OF LAWSUITS ARE PENDING?

Beyond the California state court cases, more than 2,400

lawsuits against Meta and other social media companies that make

similar claims have been centralized in the California federal

court. The federal litigation also includes lawsuits brought by

state attorneys general alleging harm to their states, as well

as cases by school districts that say social media addiction has

caused costly disruptions and problems.

While there can be some coordination between state and

federal courts overseeing similar claims, verdicts in state

court do not typically have a direct impact on the federal

litigation.

WHAT LEGAL QUESTIONS REMAIN?

Both the New Mexico and the California cases highlighted a

central legal dispute that is likely to shape future cases: how

much federal law shields social media companies from liability.

Meta, Google and other social media companies have argued

such lawsuits are barred by Section 230 of the Communications

Decency Act, which generally protects platforms from liability

over user-generated content. Plaintiffs counter that their

claims target the sites' design features that cause harm rather

than the content itself.

The judges in Los Angeles and Santa Fe rejected that

argument when they allowed the cases to go to trial. The

verdicts could form the basis of appeals that would give higher

courts a chance to weigh in on the key question of whether

Section 230 applies to claims focused on platform design rather

than content.

WHAT COMES AFTER THE VERDICTS?

In May, the judge in New Mexico will oversee a second phase

of that trial where the state attorney general will ask for a

court order directing Meta to make changes to its platforms and

for additional monetary damages.

Meta said it will appeal both verdicts. Google said it will

appeal in the Los Angeles case.

In addition to the Section 230 question, the companies

could also base appeals on events surrounding the trial,

including the judge's decision-making on evidence, or jury or

attorney conduct.

WILL THERE BE MORE TRIALS?

Yes, in both state and federal courts. A trial is scheduled

for June in federal court in a lawsuit brought by a school

district in Breathitt County, Kentucky, against Meta, ByteDance,

Snap and Google, according to court records.

In California state court, another trial is slated to begin

in July involving claims against Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and

Snapchat.