Meta Platforms, TikTok, and YouTube are set to face courtroom scrutiny this week over allegations that their platforms have contributed to a youth mental health crisis, as the national debate on children’s screen time intensifies.
The landmark trial, taking place in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, involves a 19-year-old Californian, identified as K.G.M., who claims she became addicted to the companies’ platforms at a young age due to their attention-grabbing design. Court filings indicate she alleges the apps fuelled her depression and suicidal thoughts, and she is seeking to hold the companies liable.
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.” The case marks the first time the tech giants will defend themselves at trial over alleged harm caused by their products.
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The jury will decide whether the companies were negligent in providing products that harmed K.G.M.’s mental health, and whether her app use was a substantial factor in her depression, relative to other influences such as third-party content or offline circumstances.
“This is really a test case,” said Clay Calvert, a media lawyer at the American Enterprise Institute. “We’re going to see what happens with these theories” that social media platforms caused the plaintiff harm.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify, with Meta’s lawyers asserting that the company’s products did not cause K.G.M.’s mental health challenges. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel was also expected to appear; however, Snap agreed to settle K.G.M.’s lawsuit on 20 January. YouTube has argued that its platforms differ fundamentally from social media apps like Instagram and TikTok and should not be grouped together in court. TikTok declined to comment.
Ahead of the trial, the companies have launched initiatives to convince the public that their platforms are safe for teens. Meta has sponsored parent workshops on online safety since 2018, including a 2024 Los Angeles event featuring National PTA President Yvonne Johnson. TikTok ran similar events under the Create with Kindness programme, while Google partnered with Girl Scouts to promote online safety lessons.
“These companies are using every lever of influence that you can imagine,” said Julie Scelfo, founder of Mothers Against Media Addiction. “It can be very confusing for parents who to trust.”
