Jury Selection Set in First Trial Claiming Social Platforms Caused Teen Addiction

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday in California Superior Court of Los Angeles County for the first of a series of trials alleging that Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube designed addictive products that harmed young people. The lawsuits, filed by teenagers, school districts and states, claim the companies encouraged excessive use that led to anxiety, depression, body-image issues and other harms.

A now-20-year-old Californian identified by the initials K.G.M. filed the first suit in 2023, saying she became addicted as a child. Plaintiffs’ lawyers plan to point to internal documents and features such as infinite scroll, auto video play and algorithmic recommendations as causes of compulsive use.

The cases borrow a legal strategy used against Big Tobacco, and lawyers say a win could lead to more suits, large damages and changes to platform design. The companies have argued there is no scientific proof social media causes addiction, have invoked Section 230 protections and have sought to have the cases dismissed.

Snap settled its portion of the K.G.M. suit last week for an undisclosed amount; TikTok declined to comment, and YouTube and Meta issued statements disputing the plaintiffs’ characterizations. Nine state cases are likely to go to trial in Los Angeles, and a separate set of federal cases brought by school districts and attorneys general is scheduled for U.S.

Key Topics

Tech, Meta, Tiktok, Snap, Youtube, Infinite Scroll