"At the core of the Los Angeles case is a 20-year-old identified only by the initials "KGM," whose lawsuit could determine how thousands of similar lawsuits against social media companies would play out. She and two other plaintiffs have been selected for bellwether trials - essentially test cases for both sides to see how their arguments play out before a jury."
"Mosseri, who's headed Instagram since 2018, said it's important to differentiate between clinical addiction and what he called problematic use. The plaintiff's lawyer, however, presented quotes directly from Mosseri in a podcast interview a few years ago, where he used the term addiction in relation to social media use, but he clarified that he was probably using the term "too casually," as people tend to do."
"SEE ALSO: Social media 'addicting the brains of children,' plaintiff's lawyer argues in landmark trial Mosseri said he was not claiming to be a medical expert when questioned about his qualifications to comment on the legitimacy of social media addiction, but said someone 'very close' to him has experienced serious clinical addiction, which is why he said he was 'being careful with my words.'"
A Los Angeles trial examines whether social media companies can be held responsible for harms to children who use their platforms. Meta Platforms and Google's YouTube remain defendants while TikTok and Snap settled earlier. A 20-year-old identified as "KGM" is a central plaintiff in bellwether trials that could influence thousands of similar lawsuits. Instagram leadership differentiates clinical addiction from 'problematic use,' rejecting classification of typical social media use as a clinical addiction. Prior public remarks used the term 'addiction' casually, and questions arose about medical qualifications to assess addiction. 'Problematic use' describes spending more time on Instagram than users feel good about.
Read at ABC7 Los Angeles
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