Jury Hears Starkly Different Accounts as Trial Tests Whether Social Media Companies Harm Children

BY Rosemary

Jurors in Los Angeles were introduced this week to sharply conflicting narratives in a closely watched lawsuit that could reshape how courts assess claims that social media platforms harm children. The case centers on whether companies behind some of the world’s most widely used digital products can be held legally responsible for features that plaintiffs say are deliberately designed to foster compulsive use among young people.

At the heart of the trial is a 20-year-old woman identified only by the initials KGM. Her lawsuit, along with two others selected for trial, has been designated as a bellwether, a test case intended to gauge how juries may respond to arguments that technology companies knowingly exposed children to addictive design elements that damaged their mental health. The defendants remaining in the case are Meta, the parent company of Instagram, and Google, which owns YouTube. TikTok and Snap have already reached settlements.

During opening statements in Los Angeles Superior Court, attorney Mark Lanier, representing the plaintiffs, told jurors that the case would focus on what he described as the deliberate “addiction of children’s brains” by some of the richest corporations in history. He likened social media platforms to casinos and addictive substances, arguing that features such as infinite scrolling, algorithm-driven recommendations and constant notifications were engineered to keep young users engaged for as long as possible.

Lanier presented internal emails, research documents and company studies from Meta and Google that he said showed executives and employees understood the risks their products posed to children. He highlighted a Meta research project known internally as “Project Myst,” which surveyed teenagers and parents about social media use. According to Lanier, the study concluded that children who had experienced trauma or stress were particularly vulnerable to compulsive use, and that parental controls had limited effectiveness.

He also pointed to internal Google communications comparing certain product experiences to casino mechanics, as well as messages among Meta employees in which Instagram was described as being “like a drug,” with one employee likening the company’s role to that of a dealer.

Attorneys for the defense pushed back strongly, arguing that the plaintiffs’ claims rest on contested science and exaggerations of how the platforms are actually used. Representing Meta, lawyer Paul Schmidt told jurors that the scientific community is divided over whether social media addiction exists at all, and whether heavy use should be classified as an addiction rather than a habit or coping behavior.

Schmidt argued that the central legal question is whether Meta’s platforms were a substantial factor in causing KGM’s mental health struggles. He walked jurors through medical and counseling records that, he said, documented a childhood marked by emotional abuse, bullying, body image issues and family conflict. He played a video deposition from one of KGM’s mental health providers, Dr. Thomas Suberman, who said social media was not the main thread running through her difficulties and that her challenges were more closely tied to interpersonal relationships and instability at home.

Schmidt also emphasized that although several of KGM’s providers believe social media addiction can exist in general, none diagnosed her with such a condition or treated her for it. He cited text messages and testimony suggesting a volatile relationship with her mother and other stressors unrelated to technology use.

On Tuesday, Luis Li, the attorney for YouTube and Google, focused his opening remarks on KGM’s actual usage data. He told jurors that over a five-year period, her average daily time on YouTube was 29 minutes. He said her average daily use of YouTube Shorts, the short-form video feature criticized by the plaintiffs for its infinite scroll design, was just 1 minute and 14 seconds.

Li argued that these figures undercut claims of addiction and said the features challenged by the plaintiffs can be adjusted or disabled entirely by users. He told jurors that infinite scroll is not limitless in practice and that brief, optional engagement does not amount to addiction. He also pointed to sworn testimony in which KGM said she did not consider herself addicted to YouTube.

To reinforce that point, Li displayed several boxes containing thousands of pages of medical records, telling jurors that they would not find a single instance in which a healthcare provider documented YouTube addiction. He said the only reference to YouTube in those records was a note indicating that KGM sometimes used videos to help calm herself and fall asleep during periods of anxiety.

Lanier briefly introduced KGM to the jury during his opening statement, describing her childhood and personality before she began using social media. According to the plaintiffs, she started watching YouTube at age 6 and joined Instagram at age 9. By the time she finished elementary school, Lanier said, she had uploaded hundreds of videos to YouTube. He argued that her early and extensive exposure to social media coincided with a decline in her mental health while she was still a minor.

The plaintiffs’ lawyer told jurors that the defense would attempt to shift blame onto KGM and her parents, rather than acknowledge what he characterized as a system designed to trap children into prolonged engagement. He drew parallels between the social media industry and tobacco companies, arguing that internal concerns about harm were downplayed or ignored in favor of growth and profit.

The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks and could have sweeping implications for how social media companies design products for young users. Executives, including Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, are expected to testify. Beyond Los Angeles, similar legal battles are unfolding across the country. A separate case in New Mexico has accused Meta of failing to protect children from sexual exploitation, while a federal bellwether trial scheduled to begin in June will represent school districts suing over alleged harm to students.

More than 40 state attorneys general have also filed lawsuits against Meta, accusing the company of contributing to a youth mental health crisis by intentionally designing features that encourage compulsive use among children and teenagers. TikTok faces related lawsuits in more than a dozen states, underscoring the growing legal and political scrutiny confronting the social media industry as it reckons with its impact on young users.