Landmark Trial Tests Claims That Social Media Harms Teens
TL;DR
A landmark trial in Los Angeles will examine whether social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok cause mental-health issues in teens, with thousands of lawsuits alleging addictive features.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
A Los Angeles jury is poised to consider a central question in the debate over social media and teenage welfare: Are platforms such as Instagram and TikTok causing mental-health disorders? A personal-injury trial begins this week over a young woman’s claim that social-media platforms built products that fostered addiction in adolescents and caused her a host of mental-health problems. Meta Platforms,TikTok, Snap and YouTube are facing more than 3,000 lawsuits alone in California. Another 2,000-plus cases are pending in federal court. Plaintiffs allege that the companies should be held liable for building algorithmic recommendations and product features such an infinite scroll and video autoplay that make it hard for teens to look away. Full Story