US Edition‘We’re Basically pushers:’ Two California Courtrooms Hear How Companies May Have Hooked Kids on Social Media
Plaintiffs accuse major platforms of designing addictive features that harm youth mental health, citing Meta research showing 3.1% of users experience severe problems, lawsuits seek damages and reforms.
- This month, a California state trial moved into jury selection, while internal slides and documents were released as part of litigation at the California-based federal court, with a decision likely in the next few weeks, Warren said.
- Condensing complaints from hundreds of school districts and state attorneys general, including California, plaintiffs say Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Snap prioritized profits over youth mental health while seeking monetary damages and business-practice changes.
- Internal documents include a user-experience specialist's messages calling Instagram `yall IG is a drug` and Meta researchers found 55% mild and 3.1% severe problematic use.
- Mary Anne Franks warned the trials could become a regulatory turning point, as internal conversations are exposing companies' reputations and drawing national attention.
- Defendants argue their actions are editorial and protected by the First Amendment, with Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act providing legal immunity; Meta and Google remain defendants while TikTok and Snap reportedly settled.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Hanford Sentinel
‘We’re basically pushers:’ Two California courtrooms hear how companies may have hooked kids on social media
CalMatters - Lawsuits in California federal and state court are unearthing documents embarrassing to tech companies — and may be a tipping point into federal regulation.
The ‘Social Media Addiction’ Narrative May Be More Harmful Than Social Media Itself
This week, a major trial kicked off in Los Angeles in which hundreds of families sued Meta, TikTok, Snap, and YouTube, accusing the companies of intentionally designing their products to be addictive (though Snap and TikTok both settled on the eve of the trial) . From the Guardian: For the first time, a huge group of parents, teens and school districts is taking on the world’s most powerful social media companies in open court, accusing the tec…
Big Tech's tobacco moment is here — and the truth about harming kids is out
For over a decade, child victims and their parents have been denied the chance to get justice for the harms they have suffered from social media’s products–ranging from anxiety, depression, eating disorders, substance use disorders, suicide, sextortion, and, in the starkest cases, death. Starting this week, they will finally have their day in court. On Tuesday, the first bellwether trial against social media companies began in Los Angeles, servi…
‘We’re basically pushers:’ How a battle over kids on social media is unfolding in two California courtrooms – The Markup
Lawsuits in California federal and state court are unearthing documents embarrassing to tech companies — and may be a tipping point into federal regulation. The Meta researcher’s tone was alarmed. “oh my gosh yall IG is a drug,” the user experience specialist allegedly wrote to a colleague, referring to the social media platform Instagram.”We’re basically pushers… We are causing Reward Deficit Disorder bc people are binging on IG so much they …
Meta and YouTube Social Media Lawsuit Highlights Mental Health Concerns
A California woman has filed a landmark lawsuit against TikTok, Snap Inc., YouTube, and Meta, claiming the platforms contributed to her mental health struggles as a minor. Tuesday marked the start of the jury trial in the case against Meta and YouTube, while TikTok and Snap, which runs Snapchat, settled out of court prior to the trial. The plaintiff, identified only as K.G.M., alleges that the social media giants caused her depression and anxiet…
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