‘Addiction machines’: Social media companies on trial, blamed for epidemic of suicides

The world’s largest social media companies have been accused of creating “addiction machines” as a landmark trial began in California examining the mental health effects of Instagram and YouTube.

In his opening argument, … Mark Lanier argued that his client, plaintiff “K.G.M.,” suffered from mental health issues as a result of her social media addiction.

“These companies built machines designed to addict the brains of children, and they did it on purpose,” Lanier said.

The Los Angeles trial will test legal arguments set forth by families claiming to have seen their children suffer due to their use of social media and the platforms which reject liability for how their platforms are used by people.

Over the course of several weeks, there will be testimony from experts, family members of children who died, and by [Mark] Zuckerberg, Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, and Neal Mohan, the CEO of YouTube.

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The outcome of the trial may provide a benchmark for monetary damages that would likely impact thousands of cases brought by other plaintiffs, their families, state prosecutors, and school districts across the United States.

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