It’s week four of the social media addiction trial, with testimony continuing today as YouTube’s vice president of engineering, Cristos Goodrow, took the stand. He argued the platform is designed to provide value to users not maximize watch time or promote addiction. Plaintiff attorney Mark Lanier pressed him, pointing to internal company goals aimed at reaching 1 billion watch hours per day, along with features such as recommendations, autoplay, and short form videos or YouTube Shorts.
The landmark social media addiction trial resumed today in Los Angeles,
with jurors hearing more testimony from YouTube's side.
The company defended its platform's design against claims it promotes addictive use.
NTD's Christina Corona tells us more from the courthouse.
It's week four of the social media addiction trial,
with testimony continuing today as YouTube's vice president of engineering,
Christos Goodrow, took the stand.
He argued that YouTube is designed to provide value to users,
not maximize time or cause addiction.
Before the testimony began,
proceedings were delayed about 30 minutes after jurors asked the judge
to again review legal instructions, including how social media companies
may be held liable if a platform's feature is found to be negligent or to contribute to harm.
Goodrow, who has overseen YouTube's recommendation algorithm for 15 years,
defended the platform's design, saying YouTube is intended to help users
quickly find content they value, not to keep them watching endlessly.
Plaintiff attorney Mark Lanier pressed him, pointing to internal company goals
aimed at reaching 1 billion watch hours per day,
along with features such as recommendations, autoplay, and short-form videos, or YouTube Shorts.
Lanier argued those tools encourage compulsive viewing and compared
recommendation systems to slot machines that keep users engaged.
However, Goodrow pushed back, saying that excessive scrolling
would actually signal a failure of YouTube's recommendation system.
He also highlighted safeguards that were introduced over the years,
including screen time reminders, bedtime alerts, parental controls,
and the separate YouTube Kids app designed specifically for younger users.
The lawsuit centers on claims brought by a now 20-year-old woman who alleges social
media platforms were negligently designed and contributed to mental health harms.
The plaintiff, known as Kaylee GM, is expected to testify this week.
Reporting from downtown Los Angeles, Christina Corona, NTD News.
