Social media companies Meta and YouTube are facing a jury for the first time in a landmark case involving claims their platforms are too addictive.
The case centers around a lawsuit filed by a 19-year-old under the initials K.G.M., along with other plaintiffs, who claim the platforms were designed to be addictive, ultimately leading to mental health issues including anxiety, depression and body image issues.
Jury selection in the case, which is being heard in the California Superior Court of Los Angeles County, begins Tuesday.
Richard Drew/AP – PHOTO: A mobile phone displays apps logos for Facebook and Instagram in New York.
“Borrowing heavily from the behavioral and neurobiological techniques used by slot machines and exploited by the cigarette industry, defendants deliberately embedded in their products an array of design features aimed at maximizing youth engagement to drive advertising revenue,” the lawsuit claims, pointing to features on social media apps like auto-scrolling.
The social media companies have argued there are other factors that contribute to the mental health of the young users of social media apps.
Facebook, Instagram harm young people’s mental health, lawsuit says
In a statement, a Meta spokesperson said, “We strongly disagree with these allegations and are confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.”
They added that the company has made “meaningful changes” to services such as introducing accounts specifically for teenage users.
YouTube also said the allegations are “not true.”
“Providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work,” spokesperson José Castañeda said. “In collaboration with youth, mental health and parenting experts, we built services and policies to provide young people with age-appropriate experiences, and parents with robust controls.”
Social media’s impact on your mental health
TikTok, which had also been named in the lawsuit, reached a settlement in the case just ahead of jury selection, lawyers for the plaintiffs confirmed to ABC News.
“This is a good resolution, and we are pleased with the settlement. Our focus has now turned to the Meta and YouTube for this trial,” attorney Mark Lanier said in a statement to ABC News.
Snapchat, which was previously named in the lawsuit, settled with the plaintiffs last week.
