The Trial Putting Your Social Media on the Stand
Two teens accuse Meta and Snap of designing addictive apps; jury selection began Wednesday in Los Angeles.
Two teenagers have taken Meta and Snap to trial in Los Angeles. They allege the companies deliberately designed addictive social media platforms, Infobae reported. Jury selection began Wednesday, October 28.
What Is Being Decided in That Los Angeles Courtroom
This is the second trial of its kind against the social media industry in the United States. Judge Carolyn Kuhl presides in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Opening statements are scheduled for November 4, and the trial could run until mid-December.
The plaintiffs are 16 and 18 years old, live in Illinois and Mississippi, and filed their lawsuits in 2023. They allege that compulsive use caused them depression, anxiety and harm to their mental health.
«Companies design, families set rules and each person decides what to do when the lights go out.»
They say they started on platforms like YouTube between ages 3 and 4, and on other networks around age 9. In their filings they describe sleepless nights spent scrolling and a loss of focus in class.
Their attorneys state in the lawsuit that the companies "defectively designed their platforms to specifically attract and addict minors and young adults."
The two cases were chosen as bellwethers from among more than 3,000 individual lawsuits consolidated in that court, and what is decided here could guide the rest. Another 3,800 cases brought by states, school districts and individuals are moving forward in federal courts in California.
Before the trial, both plaintiffs reached settlements with TikTok and YouTube. One also settled with Meta last week, so in this courtroom Snap answers to both plaintiffs and Meta to only one.
How Meta and Snap Respond
Meta denied the charges. A spokesperson told Reuters that a young person's mental health depends on many factors and that one of the plaintiffs used TikTok more than Instagram or Facebook.
Snap maintains that its app opens to a camera and not to a feed of other people's posts. It also cited a University of Amsterdam study that, according to the company, ranked Snapchat as the only major network with a positive effect on teen well-being.
Attorney Emily Jeffcott told Reuters that the case will show the jury the dangers of infinite feeds, autoplay and streaks. Mark Zuckerberg, Evan Spiegel and Adam Mosseri are expected to testify in November.
What is on trial is the design of the platforms, not their content. Judge Kuhl rejected the Section 230 argument, a 1996 federal law that protects platforms from liability for what their users post.
In March, another Los Angeles jury ordered Meta and Alphabet to pay $6 million to a young woman. Meta appealed.
In August, the company agreed to a settlement of up to $18 billion with nearly all states and territories. As part of the deal, it offered default daily limits of two hours for users under 18, nighttime lockouts and zero notifications during school hours.
Your Time Is Received, Not Extracted
Scripture calls us to number our days, not to burn them: "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12, ESV).
Paul wrote something similar to the Ephesians: "making the best use of the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16, ESV). The responsibility is shared. Companies design, families set rules and each person decides what to do when the lights go out.
That translates into concrete steps. Check this week's screen time report. Turn off notifications that don't come from real people. Leave your phone outside the bedroom when you sleep. Ask someone you trust how they've seen you lately.
If scrolling is already stealing your sleep or hurting you, talk to a trusted adult, a health professional or your pastor.
The trial will say whether the design was defective. Your part gets decided tonight, when the notification goes off. How much did scrolling cost you this week?
