Jury to begin deliberation in landmark social media addiction trial

A Los Angeles jury will begin deliberations on the landmark trial that saw top tech executives, including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, testify recently on social media perpetuating screen addiction and harming mental health.

The case filed by 20-year-old Kaley accused Meta, Snap, TikTok, and YouTube of designing products specifically engineered to hook young users. Snap and TikTok settled the case, leaving the other two companies to head to court last month.

Meta CEO Zuckerberg had testified that children under 13 aren’t allowed on the company’s platforms and are removed when caught. Meanwhile, the plaintiff’s lawyer presented an internal estimate from 2015 of over 4 million under-13 Instagram users.

While internet platforms have historically been shielded by Section 230, which protects them from liability for user-generated content, this lawsuit focuses instead on the platforms’ addictive business models and their impact on mental health.

The verdict is expected to set a critical legal precedent for thousands of similar pending lawsuits across the country, which blame social media for instigating depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and suicide among youngsters.