California court held a hearing on Monday (February 9) to review the case where major tech platforms Instagram and YouTube are accused of enticing users into addiction. A woman alleged that these two applications have harmed her mental health.
The 20-year-old woman, identified as KGM, accused Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, as well as Alphabet, the parent company of YouTube, stating that the appealing designs of these platforms led her to become addicted at a young age, suffer from depression, and even have suicidal thoughts, hence seeking accountability from the aforementioned companies.
Her lawyer emphasized that the applications of these tech platforms have been negligently designed, failing to warn the public about the risks, resulting in harm to her. If she wins the case, the jury will consider how to compensate her for mental damages, including punitive damages.
TikTok and Snap have already reached a settlement with KGM prior to the trial.
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to be summoned to testify. The trial could last until March.
It is expected that Meta and Google will highlight other harmful factors in KGM’s life, explain their efforts in protecting adolescents, and strive to draw a line with users who upload harmful content.
According to US law, internet companies are largely exempt from liability for content posted by users. A negative ruling against these tech companies could set a precedent for state courts to handle similar cases of user injury claims.
In addition to the lawsuit brought by KGM in California, these tech companies are facing over 2300 similar lawsuits filed by parents, school districts, and state attorneys general in federal courts. The first trial could possibly take place as early as June.
Also on Monday, a trial against Meta took place in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where the state attorney general accused the company of allowing children and teenagers to be exploited on its platform for profit.
Currently, many countries around the world are suing social media platforms for harming children’s mental health. Australia and Spain have already banned users under 16 from accessing social media platforms, and many other countries are considering similar measures.
(This article is based on a report by Reuters)