Landmark Social-Media Addiction Lawsuit Set to Begin – MyNewsLA.com

tiktok – photo courtesy of Luiza Kamalova on shutterstock Opening statements are scheduled Monday morning in a landmark lawsuit filed by a 19-year-old Northern California woman who alleges the online forums Meta and Google-run YouTube are addictive and harmful to teens and children. The woman, identified in court documents only as K.G.M., previously reached a settlement with Snapchat and TikTok. On Friday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl and the attorneys picked 12 jurors and six alternates to try the case. Industry observers have said the trial is being closely watched as a test case for hundreds of similar pending lawsuits. The cases all generally allege various damages from what attorneys call addictive social media platforms powered by “complex algorithms designed to exploit human psychology.” “In recent years, there has been growing concern about the impact of digital technologies, particularly social media, on the mental health and wellbeing of adolescents,” one of the hundreds of L.A. lawsuits contends. “Many researchers argue that defendants’ social media products facilitate cyberbullying, contribute to obesity and eating disorders, instigate sleep deprivation to achieve around-the-clock platform engagement, encourage children to negatively compare themselves to others, and develop a broad discontentment for life. They
Read More