US EditionArguments to begin in landmark social media addiction trial set in Los Angeles
The trial tests claims that Meta and Google's deliberate design of addictive features worsened youth mental health, with over 40 states filing related lawsuits, experts say.
- On Monday, arguments begin in Los Angeles County Superior Court in a landmark U.S. civil trial that could set the tone for nationwide litigation.
- Plaintiffs allege defendants deliberately embedded design features like infinite scrolling, borrowing techniques from slot machines and tobacco to maximize youth engagement for advertising revenue.
- Trial logistics show a six-week schedule after jury selection ended Friday, with Meta co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri expected to testify, while TikTok and Snap settled out before trial.
- Plaintiffs' legal theory aims to bypass Section 230 and First Amendment protections, and if jurors find negligence, tech companies could be forced to change platform designs.
- This year, hundreds of parents and school districts are pursuing lawsuits, with more than 40 state attorneys general filing suits and New Mexico prosecutors citing an internal estimate of about 100,000 children every day affected on Meta platforms.
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204 Articles
A landmark trial against tech giants Meta and Alphabet for causing addiction in children began in Los Angeles on Monday with opening statements from the plaintiffs and defense. It is just one of a series of similar lawsuits that social media has been subjected to in the United States this year, US media reports.
Meta and Youtube ‘addict the brains of children’: opening arguments in landmark trial
The landmark trial, which kicked off on Monday, centers on claims that the masterminds behind Instagram and YouTube didn't just build apps--they built high-tech slot machines designed to hook the developing brains of children for profit.
Jury told that Meta, Google 'engineered addiction' at landmark US trial
The outcome of the blockbuster trial is highly anticipated, as it could establish a legal precedent for holding social media companies accountable for deliberately designing addictive platforms that harm children.
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