Lawyers set to argue that Instagram and YouTube intentionally addicted and harmed teen in landmark social media trial
By Clare Duffy, CNN
(CNN) — Lawyers for a now-20-year-old woman will argue that addictive features harmed her mental health in opening statements in a landmark trial against Meta and YouTube, the first of hundreds of similar cases to go to trial.
The plaintiff — identified by her initials, KGM — and her mother accused the tech companies of intentionally creating addictive platforms that caused her to develop anxiety, body dysmorphia and suicidal thoughts. Lawyers for Meta and YouTube have indicated they will argue that a difficult family life, not social media, was responsible for her mental health challenges.
The outcome of KGM’s lawsuit could help guide how around 1,500 similar lawsuits against social media companies are resolved. Losses could put the tech firms on the hook for billions of dollars in damages and force them to change their platforms.
“I think that we will be able to show you evidence that indicates Instagram and YouTube created certain design features … to keep young users like (KGM) engaged for as long as possible,” KGM’s lawyer Mark Lanier said during jury selection in a state court in Los Angeles. “She became consumed by these platforms; her mental health declined. Her childhood, hence her adulthood, deviated from a normal path.”
Opening statements were delayed after a Meta attorney experienced a health issue and follow nearly two weeks of jury selection.
Parents and safety advocates, who for years have called for more online guardrails, say the trial is a crucial moment of accountability. Executives including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan are expected to testify in the coming weeks.
KGM also sued Snap and TikTok. Both companies agreed to settle the case ahead of the trial, although they remain defendants in other cases.
The tech giants have long denied that their platforms harm young users, and they’ve rolled out safety features such as parental control tools, “take a break” reminders and content restrictions.
A Meta spokesperson said, “we strongly disagree with these allegations and are confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.” A YouTube spokesperson told CNN the lawsuit’s claims are “simply not true” and that “providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work.”
Plaintiff claims platforms create addictive ‘loop’
Jury selection in KGM’s case provided an early look at the likely arguments.
KGM began using YouTube at the age of 6 and Instagram at the age of 9, Lanier said. YouTube lawyer Luis Li said during jury selection that KGM claims that, at some points, she used YouTube for “six to seven hours a day.” Meta lawyer Paul Schmidt said that, at times, she used Instagram “for several hours a day.”
That was despite KGM’s mother’s attempts to use third-party software to block access to the platforms, according to her complaint.
Her lawsuit claims that features such as endlessly scrolling feeds, frequent notifications and body-altering filters caused her mental health challenges. She also alleges that on Instagram she experienced bullying and sextortion, a scam where a bad actor threatens to share explicit photos of a person if they don’t send money or more photos.
KGM also experienced a difficult upbringing. Her mother divorced her abusive father when KGM was 3 years old and raised three children mainly as a single mom, Lanier said during jury selection.
“I expect that you’ll also hear evidence that (KGM’s) situation may have been caused by her family situation, the defendants will argue that … her mother could have taken the phone away at any time,” Lanier said, adding that her situation made her more “fragile” in the face of features designed to create an addictive “loop.”
Jury selection also underscored how widely the impacts of social media — both good and bad — are felt among disparate groups of people. Potential jurors expressed a range of opinions on social media during jury selection questioning, with some appearing concerned about the companies’ impact on society, their children and their older parents. Still, other potential jurors said they believed parents have a responsibility to monitor their children’s social media use.
Members of the final 18-person jury panel will be allowed to maintain their normal social media use throughout the trial. But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl, who is overseeing the trial, has instructed them not to search for or view any information related to the case or to change their settings to evaluate claims made during trial.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly attributed the claim that KGM once watched YouTube for hours each day. YouTube lawyer Luis Li was repeating a claim made by KGM.
The-CNN-Wire
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