The world’s largest social media firms are in court this week in an unprecedented series of trials that could determine whether their platforms are responsible for harming young people’s mental health.
With more than 1,600 plaintiffs, including more than 350 families and 250 school districts, companies such as Meta Platforms Inc.-owned Facebook and Instagram, Google LLC-owned YouTube, TikTok and Snap stand accused of designing products that are hard to put down.
The trials will be held in both state and federal courts.
Just before jury selection began in the first California case today, TikTok settled, leaving Meta and YouTube as the remaining defendants. Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckeberg and YouTube boss Neal Mohan are both expected to take the stand, while Snap settled last week. The financial details have not been made public.
The case revolves around a 20-year-old woman from California identified as K.G.M. She claims she was hooked by social media platforms at a very young age, a journey that took her through years of depression, anxiety and body dysmorphia.
“This is a good resolution, and we are pleased with the settlement,” Mark Lanier, an attorney representing the plaintiff, said in a statement. “Our focus has now turned to the Meta and YouTube for this trial.”
Lanier believes the settlement today will act as a “bellwether” for the many trials to come in the coming year. Standing outside the courtroom, he asked for “transparency” so that the “public can see that these companies have been orchestrating an addiction crisis in our country and, actually, the world.”
Echoing years of studies and activism, Lanier asked for “accountability” and for the companies to pay “for the damage that they’ve done to individual people.” The sheer scope of the trials has drawn comparisons to the lawsuits brought against Big Tobacco in the 1990s.
Google and Meta disagree that their products cause harm, with a spokesperson for Meta pointing to changes the company has made to its products over the years. “We’ve listened to parents, worked with experts and law enforcement, and conducted in-depth research to understand the issues that matter most,” said the statement.
“The allegations in these complaints are simply not true,” Google said in a similar statement. “Providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work.”
Photo: Unsplash
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