"Planting Addiction in Children's Brains"...US Trial Over "Teen SNS Addiction" Begins

First-Instance Trial Held in California

Reuters Yonhap News

In the United States, a so-called "SNS addiction" trial has begun to determine whether big tech companies (large information technology firms) such as Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube can be held responsible for allegedly addicting teenagers to social networking services (SNS). The outcome of this trial is expected to affect thousands of similar pending lawsuits.

NBC News, AFP, and other outlets reported that on the 9th (local time), a trial seeking to hold Meta and YouTube liable on these grounds opened at the Los Angeles County Superior Court in California.

The key issue is whether IT companies intentionally designed their platforms so that young children would not be able to leave them. The plaintiff is a 20-year-old woman, Kaylee G. M., who has claimed that she was addicted to SNS for more than 10 years and, as a result, suffered from anxiety, depression, and physical disabilities.

Mark Lanier, the plaintiff's attorney, told the jury that "this case is about two of the wealthiest companies in history planting addiction in children's brains." He went on to say, "Google and Meta designed their services to keep users hooked and to make them come back. Because they profit when users become addicted, this was not accidental; it was by design."

The plaintiff has also argued that big tech companies adopted psychological techniques from the tobacco industry and slot machines in their SNS platforms, designing them to trap minors.

YouTube and Meta are firmly denying the allegations. Meta founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg is expected to take the stand next week, and Instagram head Adam Mosseri is likely to appear in court as early as the 12th.

This trial is also seen as a "bellwether trial" that could serve as a benchmark for the outcomes of thousands of lawsuits filed against big tech companies. Snap, the operator of Snapchat, and TikTok were also defendants, but they recently avoided trial by reaching confidential settlements with the plaintiff.