US EditionMeta, YouTube design apps to addict kids, jury hears as landmark trial begins
The trial could shape outcomes for about 1,500 similar lawsuits alleging social media addiction harms youth mental health, with Meta and YouTube executives slated to testify.
- On Feb 8, the Los Angeles County Superior Court opened the trial of Meta and YouTube, with Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl overseeing a case involving a 20-year-old plaintiff expected to last six to eight weeks.
- Plaintiffs argue the companies built features that encourage compulsive use, alleging Meta and YouTube designed addictive infinite scroll, autoplay, algorithmic recommendations, and beauty filters, prioritising growth over youth safety.
- In a crowded courtroom on Feb 9, Mark Lanier presented internal Meta and YouTube documents from 2011 while stacking three wooden children's blocks, saying `They don't only build apps; they build traps`.
- A plaintiffs' victory could lead to billions in damages and help guide around 1,500 similar lawsuits against Meta and YouTube, potentially prompting new liabilities and regulatory scrutiny.
- Other bellwether and federal trials, including a June Oakland case, will follow while Snapchat and TikTok settled before this trial, as executives including YouTube CEO Neal Mohan are expected to testify in coming weeks.
122 Articles
122 Articles
Meta, YouTube on Trial Over Claims They Engineered Child Addiction
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta and Google’s YouTube are defending themselves in a Los Angeles courtroom against explosive allegations that they deliberately engineered their platforms to addict children, as opening statements began Monday in a closely watched trial that could have sweeping consequences for the tech industry. The case, unfolding in Los Angeles County Superior Court, is one of the most significant legal challenges yet to confront Big Tech…
The use of social networks would constitute a "descent drug" that would reshape the brains of adolescents and then make them more vulnerable to other drugs. The trial examines a 20-year-old Californian woman's complaint that she has developed a network dependence...
California trial over social media harm to children begins
Opening statements in a landmark trial involving some of the world’s biggest social media companies, including Google, YouTube and Meta, opened in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Monday, to determine the platforms’ alleged harmful effects on children. The case will test claims about addiction and whether the tech giants can be held liable for harming children or if they have protection under the First Amendment. One plaintiff, identified a…
The YouTube legal team said Tuesday that Google's video platform was not designed to generate addiction and that it cannot even be considered, technically speaking, a social network, within the framework of the second day of a historic trial against big tech companies.Read more
The use of social networks is now one of the first addictive behaviours experienced by young people, acting as a real "destination drug" that reshapes their brains at the vulnerable stage of development, testified on Tuesday an American psychiatrist at the trial of YouTube and Meta in Los Angeles.
Meta, Google push back on addiction claims in landmark social media trial
Jurors in a landmark social media case that seeks to hold tech companies responsible for harms to children got their first glimpse into what will be a lengthy trial characterized by dueling narratives from the plaintiffs and the two remaining defendants, Meta and YouTube.
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