Teenager sues social media platforms she says fuelled her depression and suicidal thoughts

It will be the first time the tech giants must defend themselves at trial over alleged harm caused by their products, the plaintiff's attorney said. 

Facebook and Instagram owner Meta, TikTok, and YouTube will face courtroom scrutiny this week over allegations their platforms are fuelling a youth mental health crisis in America, as the national debate about children's screen time enters a new phase.

Mark Zuckerberg is among those who will take the stand at the bellwether trial in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County. 

It involves a 19-year-old woman from California, identified as KGM, who says she became addicted to the companies’ platforms at a young age because of their attention-grabbing design, according to court filings. 

She alleges the apps fuelled her depression and suicidal thoughts and is seeking to hold the companies liable.

Her lawsuit is the first of several cases expected to go to trial this year that centre on what the plaintiffs call “social media addiction” among children. 

It will be the first time the tech giants must defend themselves at trial over alleged harm caused by their products, the plaintiff's attorney Matthew Bergman said. 

“They will be under a level of scrutiny that does not exist when you testify in front of Congress,” he said.

The jury will decide whether the companies were negligent in providing products that harmed KGM’s mental health, and if her use of the apps was a substantial factor in her depression, compared with other causes such as the third-party content she viewed on the apps or aspects of her life offline.

"This is really a test case,” said Clay Calvert, a media lawyer at the American Enterprise Institute, a pro-business think tank. 

“We're going to see what happens with these theories,” that the social media platforms caused the plaintiff harm.

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Meta, is expected to take the witness stand. The company will argue in court that its products did not lead to KGM's mental health challenges, Meta's lawyers said ahead of the trial. 

Snap chief executive Evan Spiegel is also expected to testify, as his company was named a defendant in the lawsuit. Snap agreed on January 20 to settle KGM’s lawsuit. A company spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of the deal.

YouTube will argue the company's platforms are fundamentally different from social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, and should not be lumped together in court, a YouTube executive said ahead of the trial.

TikTok declined to comment about the company's planned arguments in court.

As the trial begins, the same tech companies are mounting a US-wide effort to convince critics their products are safe for teens. They have launched tools they say give parents more control over how their children use the platforms and have spent millions of dollars promoting those features.

Since at least 2018, Meta has sponsored parent workshops about teen online safety at dozens of high schools across the US. 

TikTok also sponsored similar gatherings. The programme included tutorials on TikTok’s features for parents, including the option to limit screen time at night.

YouTube’s parent company Google has turned to the Girl Scouts organisation to convince the public it is invested in children's online safety. 

The companies have also hired lawyers who have represented corporations in high-profile litigation involving addiction.

Reuters