Social Media Giants on Trial for Creating 'Addiction Machines'

Wed Feb 11 2026 01:25:07 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Instagram and YouTube face scrutiny in a landmark trial over the mental health impacts of their platforms on young users.

A landmark trial underway in Los Angeles claims that Instagram and YouTube are 'addiction machines' harming young users' mental health. The case centers on a plaintiff, referred to as K.G.M., who alleges her social media addiction led to severe mental health issues. Legal arguments will explore whether these platforms engineered addiction in children and whether they owe responsibility for the consequences.

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 before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl and a jury, 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, said Lanier.

Lawyers for Meta and YouTube countered that K.G.M.'s addiction stemmed from other issues in her life, not their negligence.

K.G.M. will be referred to by her initials, or as Kaley G.M., because the alleged harms took place when she was a minor.

Lanier also charged that Meta and YouTube failed to warn of the dangers to young users posed by the design of their platforms.

He underscored his opening remarks by speaking with a display of children's blocks in front of him: the words Addicting, Brains and Children appeared next to the letters A, B, and C.

This case is about two of the richest corporations in history who have engineered addiction in children's brains, Lanier said. I'm going to show you the addiction machine that they built, the internal documents that people normally don't get to see, and emails from [Meta CEO] Mark Zuckerberg and YouTube executives.

In a selected portion of a 2015 email Lanier showed the court, Zuckerberg demanded that time spent increases by 12% on Meta platforms in order to meet internal business goals.

As for YouTube, Lanier said the platform, owned by Google, intentionally targeted young users because it could charge advertisers more, compared to its YouTube Kids platform.

Lanier then accused YouTube of trying to take advantage of busy parents looking for a digital babysitting service.

When it was Meta's turn to make an opening statement, attorney Paul Schmidt questioned whether Instagram was a substantial factor in K.G.M's mental health struggles, portraying her as someone dealing with family turmoil, including neglect, abuse, and bullying by her parents.

The trial is poised to continue for six weeks, involving testimonies from experts, family members of children believed to have suffered due to social media, and key figures such as Zuckerberg and YouTube executives.

The outcome may establish a benchmark for addressing similar cases across the US and prompt legal discussions on social media responsibility.