Social Media Companies Face Lawsuit Over Alleged Harm to Children
Meta and YouTube are in court this week over allegations that their social media platforms can be addictive and harmful to children, while TikTok decided to settle the closely watched case. At the heart of the case are allegations from a 19-year-old plaintiff, identified only as “KGM,” who claims that social media use at a young age caused her to become addicted to technology, causing her to develop depression and suicidal thoughts.
Background of the Case
According to Matthew Bergman, founding attorney at the Social Media Victims Law Center, which represents KGM, TikTok was expected to be part of the lawsuit, but an agreement was reached with the plaintiff. Joseph VanZandt, co-lead attorney for the plaintiff, said that TikTok remains a defendant in other personal injury cases. A fourth company named in the lawsuit, Snapchat parent company Snap, also settled the case last week for an undisclosed sum.
Possible Precedent
Legal experts said the trial could be a reference to more than a thousand similar cases brought against social media actors in recent years. Depending on the outcome, tech giants could be forced to overhaul their platforms. The trial will also serve as a test case to see what damages, if any, could be awarded to plaintiffs. The trial, which begins this week in Los Angeles County Superior Court, marks the first time major social media companies will have their case heard by a jury.
Allegations Against Social Media Companies
KGM’s lawsuit alleges that the social media addiction and mental illness she suffered were caused by conscious design decisions by companies that wanted to make their platforms more addictive to children in order to increase their profits. The lawsuit states that defendants borrowed heavily from the behavioral and neurobiological techniques used by slot machines and exploited by the cigarette industry, and deliberately incorporated into their products a number of design features designed to maximize youth engagement in order to increase advertising revenue.
Response from Social Media Companies
A Meta spokesperson said that the company strongly disagrees with the allegations outlined in the lawsuit and that it is “confident that the evidence will demonstrate our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.” José Castañeda, a Google spokesman, said that the allegations against YouTube were “simply not true.” The tech companies dispute claims that their products intentionally harm children, pointing to a variety of safeguards they have added over the years and arguing that they are not liable for content posted by third parties on their websites.
Expected Testimony and Outcome
Executives including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg are expected to testify at the trial, which will last six to eight weeks. Experts have noted similarities with the major tobacco lawsuits that led to a 1998 settlement that required cigarette makers to pay billions of dollars in health care costs and restrict advertising to minors. The case will be the first in a series starting this year that seeks to hold social media companies responsible for harming children’s mental well-being.
Broader Implications
A federal trial beginning in June in Oakland, California, will be the first to represent school districts that have sued social media platforms for harming children. Additionally, more than 40 state attorneys general have filed lawsuits against Meta, alleging that the company is harming young people and contributing to the youth mental health crisis by intentionally developing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms. TikTok also faces similar lawsuits in more than a dozen states.
