Instagram and YouTube have been accused of “engineer[ing] addiction in children’s brains”, in the opening statements of a landmark social media trial taking place in LA.
Mark Lanier, representing plaintiffs who accuse social media companies of developing harmful and addictive platforms, described the case as being “as easy as ABC”, which he said stands for “addicting the brains of children.”
This is the first of a number of “bellwether” lawsuits, ie test cases, with lawyers considering the testimonies of more than 1,500 people when launching the action.
Both TikTok and Snapchat settled out of court in the first lawsuit but will be involved in subsequent trials.
If the social media companies lose, they’ll need to pay compensation but could also be forced to change the way they work.
Read more: Social media goes on trial in LA – here’s what you need to know
Mr Lanier called Meta and Google “two of the richest corporations in history” that have “engineered addiction in children’s brains”.
Meta’s lawyer, Paul Schmidt, spoke of the disagreement within the scientific community over social media addiction, with some believing it doesn’t exist or that addiction is not the most appropriate way to describe heavy social media use.
He also spoke about the 20-year-old plaintiff, known as KGM, and her mental health struggles.
Her lawyer, Mr Lanier, said she started using YouTube at age 6 and Instagram at age 9. Before she finished primary school, she had posted 284 videos on YouTube.
She says she became addicted to social media, which caused her anxiety, depression and body image issues.
