Mark Zuckerberg and the head of YouTube in court. The precedent-setting case could cost the giants billions

The long-awaited civil trial against the Meta and YouTube platforms began in a Los Angeles court on Monday, accusing the teenager of intentionally addicting her to them and causing harm to her mental health. The outcome of the precedent-setting trial may have consequences for subsequent similar lawsuits.

The beginning of the end of social media for children? A teenager is suing companies for suicidal thoughts and fears

The initiated trial is the result of a lawsuit filed by a young woman, known only by the initials KGM. She accuses social media platforms of being addicted to their products when she was a child, causing damage to her mental health, causing anxiety, disturbances in body image and suicidal thoughts. The woman allegedly started using YouTube when she was 6 years old and Instagram when she was 9 years old.

– This case concerns two of the richest corporations in history, which created an addiction in the brains of children (…) I will show you evidence that these companies built machines designed to addict the brains of children and that they did it on purpose – said Mark Lanier, a lawyer representing KGM, in an opening statement, quoted by the Wall Street Journal.

“Addiction machines” under the court's microscope

The companies' lawyers intend to argue that the cause of the plaintiffs' problems were not social media, but her difficult family situation. They also claim that they have introduced tools and measures to protect children. During the trial, testimonies will include, among others: the head of Meta Mark Zuckerberg, the head of Instagram Adam Mosseri and the head of YouTube Neal Mohan.

Although this is not a class action lawsuit, the outcome of the trial – unless the parties reach a settlement before the jury's verdict – could set the course for hundreds of similar cases, potentially lead to large compensation payments and force changes in the functioning of platforms. The case is compared to landmark cases against the tobacco industry.

The same woman had previously sued the owners of other platforms in a similar way, Snapchat and TikTok. However, these companies reached a settlement with her before the trial began.

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

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