This Lawsuit Against Big Tech Could Change Social Media's Landscape Forever

A 20-year-old woman recently spoke in front of a Los Angeles courtroom about her addiction to social media. She said she started using YouTube at six years old and had an Instagram account by nine. The woman, known only as K.G.M., claims that the way social media platforms' algorithms, autoplays, and other features work led her to become addicted, depressed, and develop body dysmorphia. 

And she isn't alone. A California Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding has consolidated similar claims from around 1,600 plaintiffs, including families and school districts. However, K.G.M.'s case stands out due to its new legal strategy: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has protected social media platforms from user-posted content for decades, but she is accusing the platforms of "negligence-based product liability." It's not just the user content that has negatively impacted her, but the platforms' engineering and design. And it could be working — TikTok and Snapchat have already reportedly settled with K.G.M. before trial, with Meta and Google remaining as defendants. It's not the first time Meta has been sued, but it could be the most important trial so far. 

According to the National Library of Medicine, social media has become an addiction for many users, particularly teenagers. Compulsive use fueled by the app's infinite scrolling can lead to low self-esteem and mental health problems. Leaked internal Meta documents also revealed the company's own research into Instagram's effects on teens' body image and mental health. In the proceedings, shared communications between Meta employees compared its social media platforms to drugs and gambling. 

However, the social media platforms are fighting back. A Meta spokesperson stated that K.G.M. already had struggles at home and with bullies with or without social media use — issues that "would have existed without Instagram." Multiple platforms have argued that their apps do not cause clinical addiction. 

The jurors have to decide if Meta and Google's social media platforms played a significant role in K.G.M.'s suffering. If they do, social media platforms may have to change how they function. It's something that other countries have been pushing for. The European Commission accused TikTok of using a type of content "reward" design to keep users mindlessly scrolling. Australia has completely cut off access to social media for teens under 16, with similar concerns that it harms younger users. K.G.M.'s lawyer, Mark Lanier, stated, "I don't naysay the opportunity to make money, but when you're making money off of kids, you have to do it responsibly."