Bernstein urges caution as Meta-Google verdict revives ‘Big Tobacco’ fears

Bernstein says that with the jury decision in California finding Meta (META) and Google (GOOGL) guilty of designing addictive products with mental health implications, doomsday scenarios and the social media morality debate have returned. While many wonder if this is “Big Tech’s Big Tobacco moment,” the firm notes that very new media has endured a moral crisis, most resolved with self-regulation and minimal impairment. Simple extrapolations of the verdict look scary and expensive, but Bernstein urges “patience over extrapolating legal outcomes.” The firm expects the case to be tied up in the Appeals for the foreseeable future. More importantly, Bernstein expects this verdict to galvanize stricter nationalist policies for social media use affecting users and engagement.