After more than eight days of deliberation, a downtown LA jury on Wednesday found tech giants Meta and Google liable in a civil suit brought by a now-20-year-old woman, known in court only as Kaley GM.

The 12 jurors also ordered the two companies to pay Kaley $3 million in damages, with 70% to be paid by Meta, parent of Instagram and Facebook, and 30% to be paid by Google, which operates YouTube. The jury also awarded $3 million in punitive damages — $2.1 million for Meta and $900,000 for Google.

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This verdict is merely the first shot in what is expected to be a protracted war with many fronts. In addition to the coordinated proceeding in Southern California, there is a multidistrict litigation in Northern California, comprising nearly 800 personal injury plaintiffs and more than 1,100 school districts, cities, counties, tribes and state attorneys general.

And while monumental, Wednesday’s verdict pales in comparison to one issued yesterday, when a jury in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay a staggering $375 million to the state for violating consumer protection law by enabling child sexual exploitation on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. That was the first time a social media company has ever been held liable by a jury for harming underage users; Wednesday’s verdict marks the second.

There are numerous other lawsuits scattered about the country targeting individual social media companies — for example, 11 plaintiffs are suing Snap in LA Superior Court over claims drug dealers are allowed to sell their wares on the messaging platform.

My local newspaper was referring to this verdict as very important legal precedent. Akin to how tabaco industries in the 90s suddenly became liable for the damage they are causing. Is that so? @siggy47 maybe?