YouTube, Meta lose bid to exclude 'Like' evidence in US social media addiction trial

( February 9, 2026, 16:34 GMT | Official Statement) -- MLex Summary: Google's YouTube and Meta Platforms' motion to exclude evidence around the platforms' use of the "Like" button has been denied by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, who ruled that a federal appeals court ruling against the state of California, YouTube and Meta failed to establish a basis for precluding all evidence concerning "Like" features in this trial. "Even in Bonta,where a content-based restriction on speech was at issue, the court indicated that measures short of precluding the publication of the aggregate number of 'likes' might be a permissible regulation of speech as less restrictive alternatives," Judge Carolyn Kuhl wrote in the order. "Here, the evidence may show that less restrictive alternatives to a total constraint on the publication methodology (the 'likes' feature) on which liability might be premised are available to the platforms that offer the “likes” feature in order to avoid foreseeable harm to minors." See attached document....