Meta, TikTok, YouTube to stand trial on youth addiction claims

WASHINGTON (Reuters):  Meta Platforms, TikTok and YouTube will face courtroom scrutiny this week over allegations that their platforms are fueling a youth mental health crisis, as the national debate about kids’ screen time enters a new phase.

 

The trial in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County is a test case for thousands of other lawsuits seeking damages for social media harms, in a legal onslaught that could erode Big Tech's longstanding legal defense.

 

The plaintiff is a 19-year-old woman from California, identified as K.G.M., who says she became addicted to the companies’ platforms at a young age because of their attention-grabbing design, according to court filings. She alleges the apps fueled her depression and suicidal thoughts and is seeking to hold the companies liable. Jury selection in the case begins on Tuesday.

 

Her lawsuit is the first of several cases expected to go to trial this year that center on what the plaintiffs call “social media addiction” among children. It will be the first time the tech giants must defend themselves at trial over alleged harm caused by their products, the plaintiff's attorney Matthew Bergman said.A factor in the case is a federal law that largely exempts platforms such as Instagram and TikTok from legal liability for the material their users post. The tech companies have argued the law shields them in K.G.M.'s case.

 

A verdict against the social media companies would put a crack in that defense, which has protected them from lawsuits for decades. It would show that juries are willing to hold the platforms themselves liable. The issue is likely to reach the Supreme Court, whether through K.G.M.'s case or another, Bergman said.

 

"We are writing on a legal tabula rasa," he told Reuters.

 

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta (META.O), opens new tab, is expected to take the witness stand. The company will argue in court that its products did not lead to K.G.M.'s mental health challenges, Meta's lawyers told Reuters ahead of the trial.

 

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel was also expected to testify, as his company was named a defendant in the lawsuit. Snap (SNAP.N), opens new tab agreed on January 20 to settle K.G.M.’s lawsuit. A company spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of the deal.

YouTube will argue that the company's platforms are fundamentally different from social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, and should not be lumped together in court, a YouTube executive said ahead of the trial.

 

TikTok declined to comment about the company's planned arguments in court.

As the trial begins, the same tech companies are mounting a nationwide effort to convince critics that their products are safe for teens. They've launched tools they say give parents more control over how their kids use the platforms and have spent millions of dollars promoting those features.Since at least 2018, Meta has sponsored parent workshops about teen online safety at dozens of high schools across the U.S.

 

The company hosted one of those workshops, dubbed Screen Smart, in 2024 in Los Angeles, opens new tab, alongside National PTA President Yvonne Johnson and Meta safety chief Antigone Davis. National PTA is a nonprofit that advocates for child welfare.

TikTok also sponsored similar gatherings, opens new tab led by 100 local and regional PTAs, calling it Create with Kindness, according to the company's website. The program included tutorials on TikTok’s features for parents, including the option to limit screen time at night, according to the curriculum, opens new tab.

YouTube’s parent company Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab in recent years has turned to Girl Scouts to convince the public it is invested in kids’ online safety. Girls can earn a patch, which features Google’s logo, opens new tab, to affix to their uniform after completing lessons about strong passwords, being kind online and digital privacy, according to the Girl Scouts website.

 

The companies have also hired lawyers who have represented corporations in high-profile litigation involving addiction.

 

Meta has hired Covington & Burling attorneys who represented McKesson in sprawling litigation related to the opioid epidemic, according to public biographies of the attorneys. TikTok’s counsel, meanwhile, represented Activision Blizzard and Microsoft in a dispute about video game design and addiction.

 

"These companies are using every lever of influence that you can imagine,” said Julie Scelfo, founder of Mothers Against Media Addiction, a group that supports smartphone bans in schools. "It can be very confusing for parents who to trust."