A court ruling with potentially massive implications has found that social media apps are intentionally designed to be addictive, and are harmful to teenage mental health.
A now 20-year-old woman sued Meta and YouTube owner Google for damaging her mental health as a child, with a jury awarding her $6 million in damages – and this is likely to be only the start …
Social media apps long linked to harmful effects
Academic studies have long linked use of social media apps to mental health issues in children and teenagers. Apps like Instagram have been found to promote unrealistic body images; social media in general can leave teens with the impression that everybody else is living amazing lives while their own is lacking; cyberbullying is commonplace in apps used by teens; and apps have sometimes pushed self-harm content into the feeds of teenage users.
There have been a number of teen suicides linked to social media:
- Self-harm content led to death of 14-year-old girl; Meta and Pinterest admit failings
- TikTok’s Algorithm Keeps Pushing Suicide to Vulnerable Kids
- Teenage girl killed herself after online bullying on social media
Worse, it’s argued that social networks are not only fully aware of the harm that can be done, but that they intentionally design their apps to be addictive.
Court finds Meta and YouTube responsible
Multiple lawsuits have been filed, and BBC News reports that a verdict has just been reached in one of the highest-profile ones.
A Los Angeles jury handed down an unprecedented win for a young woman who sued Meta and YouTube over her childhood addiction to social media. Jurors found that Meta, which owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, and Google, owner of YouTube, intentionally built addictive social media platforms that harmed the 20-year old’s mental health. The woman, known as Kaley, was awarded $6m (£4.5m) in damages.
The jury also ruled that the two companies acted deliberately.
Jurors […] determined Meta and Google “acted with malice, oppression, or fraud” in the way the companies operated their platforms.
Both companies said they intended to appeal the verdict. Meta argued that teenage mental health is too complex to be linked to specific apps, while Google said that YouTube is not a social media platform.
9to5Mac’s Take
As the BBC report says, this is a landmark ruling which will have massive implications. Many similar lawsuits are working their way through the court system.
Australia has already banned under-16s from using social media platforms, and Spain is following suit. Legislation is in progress in France, Portugal and Brazil, and a number of other countries are actively considering similar legislation.
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