A trial is taking place in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where jury selection started on January 27. It is testing a new legal theory intended to start greater regulation of social media platforms like TikTok, Snap, YouTube, and Meta’s Facebook and Instagram: Lawyers are gearing up to argue that the companies behind these platforms are designing their sites to be deliberately addictive, resulting in direct personal injury to users, especially children. The trial is expected to consist of nine cases, which have been compiled by judges across the nation as some of the strongest bellwethers for this new argument. First on the docket is a case brought by a 20-year-old plaintiff identified as K.G.M., who says that a lack of sufficient guardrails on social media sites during her youth led to compulsive use and mental health concerns such as depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia, self-harm, and risk of suicide. The defendants named in K.G.M.’s initial suit were Bytedance, the last...
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