Trial begins in the USA: Is social media deliberately addicting children?

Debora Pape

28.1.2026

Translation: machine translated

Google and Meta have to defend themselves against accusations of addicting young people and harming them as a result. The trial could lead to billions in fines and structural changes to social media services.

According to studies like this one, social media can promote depression and harm minors in particular through dangerous trends. This is why Australia was the first country in the world to introduce a social media ban for children and young people under the age of 16 a few weeks ago. They are no longer allowed to use platforms such as Tiktok, X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube in the country.

The question of whether these services are deliberately designed to addict young people is the subject of a first major trial in Los Angeles (USA). The case of a 19-year-old American woman with the initials «KGM» is regarded as a groundbreaking trial. The jury will be selected this week. The trial is expected to last several weeks.

The accusation: gambling mechanisms on social media platforms

KGM blames the companies behind Tiktok, Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube for her mental health problems. According to their argument, the platforms used mechanisms similar to addictive gambling systems. They encouraged endless scrolling and encouraged users to open the apps again and again with frequent push notifications.

The aim: to keep young people in the feed for as long as possible and present them with adverts. At the same time, the services did too little to combat cyberbullying and did not provide sufficient protection against harmful content. KGM was addicted to social media at a young age and suffers from depression and suicidal thoughts as a result.

The tech companies argue, however, that the youth protection measures introduced so far are sufficient and that the mental health problems of young people cannot be blamed solely on social networks. Google and Meta point to their existing security measures and argue that they are not responsible for content from third-party providers.

Meta in particular is likely to find it difficult to escape responsibility. The 2021 leaked «Facebook Files» state that the company is aware of the harmful effects of social media (in this case Instagram), but is doing nothing about it.

More than a thousand other lawsuits are pending

A few days before the trial, Tiktok and Snap reached an out-of-court settlement with KGM and thus avoided the dock. The terms of the settlement are not known. However, those responsible at Google, the operator of YouTube, and Meta, Facebook's parent company, will have to answer questions. Among others, a statement from Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected.

In the past, Zuckerberg has already been questioned before the US Congress about allegations of this kind - but there have been no real consequences or significantly stricter regulations to date.

This could change.

This could change. More than a thousand additional lawsuits have been filed by affected parents, school districts and almost all US states. These proceedings are now being bundled in California. The current case serves as a test run that could set standards for all subsequent lawsuits.

The judgement could have far-reaching consequences for social media

If the jury follows the plaintiffs' arguments, the companies could face billions in fines, stricter youth protection requirements, transparency obligations for algorithms - and possibly structural changes to the platforms themselves. Sarah Gardner, CEO of an initiative that advocates for the online safety of children, draws a drastic comparison: the proceedings are similar to the earlier tobacco trials, in which the health consequences of tobacco consumption were recognised and, as a result, tobacco advertising in public was almost banned.

Debora Pape

Editor

Debora.Pape@galaxus.de

Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.

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