Beginning this week, the social media giants Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube will stand trial over claims their platforms are addictive and have harmed young users.
In a series of trials, the first of which will begin with jury selection Tuesday in a state court in Los Angeles, the plaintiffs’ lawyers are testing a novel legal theory claiming that the companies caused personal injury through defective products.
Thousands of individuals, school districts and state attorneys general have filed similar lawsuits. Just one win could open the door to an avalanche of similar claims.
Here’s what to know.
What are the cases about?
These cases test the argument that social media was built to be addictive, like cigarettes.
The lawsuits claim that social media features like infinite scrolling, algorithmic recommendations, notifications and videos that play automatically lead to compulsive use. The plaintiffs contend that the resulting addiction has led to problems like depression, anxiety, eating disorders and self-harm, including suicide.
The cases have drawn comparisons to those against Big Tobacco in the 1990s, when companies like Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds were accused of hiding information about the harms of cigarettes.
Which case comes first?
Starting this week, a jury will hear first from a 20-year-old woman from California identified as K.G.M. in California Superior Court in Los Angeles County.
K.G.M. created a YouTube account at age 8, then joined Instagram at 9; Musical.ly, now TikTok, at 10; and Snapchat at 11. In her lawsuit, she claimed she became addicted to the social media sites as a child and experienced anxiety, depression and body-image issues as a result.
The trial is expected to last about six to eight weeks, and executives including Meta’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, are expected to testify.
More trials will follow?
Yes, judges have bundled some of the strongest cases among the thousands of suits that were filed to act as bellwethers. Nine cases are expected to be heard in the series of trials in Los Angeles, beginning with K.G.M.’s.
This summer, a second set of federal cases will go to trial in Oakland, Calif., at the U.S. District Court of Northern California. In that series of cases, school districts and states plan to argue that social media is a public nuisance and that they have had to shoulder the costs of treating a generation of youths suffering from addictive social media use.
How are the companies planning to defend themselves?
Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube all argue that there is no clear scientific link between tech use and addiction and will insist there needs to be strong proof that their products significantly harmed young users.
The social media companies also plan to cite a federal shield law, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, that protects them from liability for what their users post online.
Snap, which owns Snapchat, settled its claims with K.G.M. It did not respond to requests for comment about additional litigation. TikTok declined to comment. YouTube, which is owned by Google, told reporters last week the company was not a social media platform and it has extra safety measures for young users.
Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, said in a blog post last week that the first trial “oversimplifies” the problem.
What’s at stake?
The plaintiffs are asking for monetary damages and potential design changes to the platforms to prevent addictive behavior.
It is unclear how much money a win by the plaintiffs could cost the companies, but it is likely to be significant. A win could also open the door to millions of other claims by social media users.
If the companies are forced to make changes to their products, it could harm their broader business models.
Cecilia Kang reports on technology and regulatory policy for The Times from Washington. She has written about technology for over two decades.
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