Meta, TikTok and YouTube heading to trial to defend against youth addiction, mental health …

For years, social media giants have argued against claims that their platforms harm young people’s mental health. Starting Tuesday, they will for the first time have to defend against those claims before a jury in a court of law.A 19-year-old identified as KGM and her mother, Karen Glenn, are suing TikTok, Meta and Google’s YouTube, alleging that the companies knowingly created addictive features that harmed her mental health and led to self-harm and suicidal thoughts. (Snap, also a defendant, settled last week under undisclosed terms.)Parents, advocates, health experts, tech whistleblowers and teens themselves have for years worried that social media platforms can get young people hooked on scrolling, enable bullying, disrupt their sleep and send them down harmful content rabbit holes. Tech executives have repeatedly been hauled before Congress, at one point even apologizing to parents who say their children died or were harmed because of social media. But the companies have nonetheless faced few consequences or regulations in the United States.KGM’s case seeks unspecified monetary damages. The outcome could influence how more than 1,000 similar personal injury cases against Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube are resolved.Top executives from Meta, TikTok and YouTube are expected to take the witness stand
Read More