Big Tech social media companies may face Big Tobacco moment as landmark trial begins

"Some of the world's biggest tech companies are facing landmark trials that could alter the outlook of the social media industry when a jury decides whether their platforms are addictive and hurting young people. The first in a series of trials started in a state court in Los Angeles on Tuesday with jury selection in a case claiming a young woman suffered all kinds of mental health problems because of social media platforms built to foster addiction."

"The trial will be a key test for social media companies that have mostly been able to escape legal scrutiny thanks to Section 230, which protects publishers from being held liable for content generated by their users. The lawsuit, brought by a young woman being identified as KGM, says she became addicted to social media as a child and suffered mental health issues as a result."

Landmark trials in California are testing whether major social media platforms created addictive designs that harmed young people and triggered mental health problems. A state trial in Los Angeles began with jury selection in a case brought by a plaintiff identified as KGM, who alleges addiction to social media beginning in childhood and resulting mental health issues. The litigation targets platform features and design patterns rather than user-generated content liability protected by Section 230. Meta and YouTube remain defendants after TikTok and Snap settled. Judges have bundled other cases and parallel federal trials by school districts and states allege social media is a public nuisance.

Read at KOMO