"A jury has found that psychological harm caused by addictive design counts as a personal injury, actionable in court. This precedent would hand a powerful legal weapon to lawyers representing the thousands of plaintiffs alleging grievous harm from social-media addiction."
"The young woman known in court by her first name, Kaley, experienced anxiety, body dysmorphia, and suicidal thoughts. She was drawn into compulsive use of social media by certain addictive design decisions-like auto-playing videos and the infinite scroll of the social media feed."
"Many of the cases that will follow Kaley's will center around the damages caused not by social media but by so-called AI companions, and their harms can be even more severe and insidious."
A California jury awarded $6 million to a woman for mental health issues linked to Instagram and YouTube usage as a child. This verdict establishes that psychological harm from addictive design is a personal injury. The ruling could empower numerous plaintiffs against social media addiction. The case highlights the severe impacts of addictive features like auto-playing videos. Future cases may focus on AI companions, which could inflict even greater psychological harm, particularly on vulnerable young users seeking emotional connections.
Read at The Nation
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]