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The world’s largest social media giants are heading into a series of lawsuits in the US, accusing them of harming children with their addictive algorithms.
The opening arguments begin this week in LA County Superior Court in the first case to be heard in front of a jury, alleging that Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube were deliberately designed to addict young users and worsen mental health outcomes.
TikTok and Snap were initially named in the lawsuit, but settled ahead of trial for undisclosed sums.
At the centre of the case is a 19-year-old, identified only as “KGM”, whose lawsuit has been selected as a bellwether, a test case intended to point to how hundreds of similar claims across the US may play out.
It is being argued that social media firms knowingly embedded addictive features to maximise engagement and ad revenue, even when internal research highlighted risks to children.
By focusing on product design rather than user-generated content, the lawsuits seek to bypass the US Communications Decency Act, which has historically shielded platforms from liability.
Throughout the trial, executives such as Mark Zuckerberg are expected to testify, and the trial is expected to last six to eight weeks.
It will mark the first time major social media companies will defend their business models before a jury on the issue of addictive design.
The KGM case
The outcome of the KGM case will influence how remaining lawsuits are resolved, either encouraging settlements or setting a precedent for further trials.
Over 1,600 claims have been filed across the US by families and around 250 school districts, alleging social media use contributed to anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts among children.
“This is the first time a jury will hear detailed arguments about what these companies knew about the risks of their design choices,” said Clay Calvert, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “That alone makes it significant.”
Meta and Google have strongly rejected the various allegations.
The Instagram and Facebook owner has said the lawsuits oversimplify a ‘complex mental health landscape’ and ignore broader pressures facing teenagers, like academic stress.
A spokesperson said the social media titan was confident evidence would show its “longstanding commitment to supporting young people”.
Google said the claims against YouTube were “simply not true” and that youth safety had always been a core priority.
The California case is the first in a broader wave of litigation set to unfold this year.
A federal trial representing school districts is scheduled to begin in Oakland in June, and separately, over 40 US State Attorneys have launched legal actions against Meta, accusing the tech giant of deliberately implementing features that addict children.
In New Mexico, state prosecutors are also preparing for a standalone trial alleging Meta failed to protect young users from sexual exploitation and misrepresented the safety of its platforms, focusing on how algorithms amplify harmful material rather than the content itself.
