Jury selection kicked off Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court for a bellwether case that could shape how social media companies are held accountable for the mental health of their youngest users. Two teenage plaintiffs allege that Meta's Instagram and Snap's Snapchat were intentionally engineered to be addictive, causing serious psychological harm.
The case, brought by plaintiffs identified as S.J. and K.D.B., is part of a broader wave of litigation against social media firms. S.J., a teenager from Illinois, began using Snapchat at a young age, engaging with features like Snapstreaks, Snapscore, filters, and push notifications. Her attorneys argue these tools drove compulsive use, contributing to depression, an eating disorder, anxiety, and self-harm. K.D.B., an 18-year-old from Mississippi, says she started using both Instagram and Snapchat as a child and suffered similar harms.
Both plaintiffs had also sued TikTok and YouTube, but settled with those platforms in the weeks before trial. Meta and S.J. reached a settlement last week, according to her attorneys, though the case against Snap and the remaining claims against Meta proceed.
The trial is expected to feature testimony from top executives, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, and Instagram head Adam Mosseri. While Zuckerberg and Mosseri have testified in congressional hearings, this will mark Spiegel's first trial testimony. The proceedings are being watched closely as a bellwether for thousands of similar lawsuits pending across the country.
This is the third addiction-related trial involving Meta and Snap, following earlier cases that ended in mixed outcomes. The companies have consistently denied allegations that their platforms are intentionally addictive, arguing that they have invested in safety features and that users are responsible for their own engagement.
Legal experts say the trial's outcome could set a precedent for how courts evaluate design choices and their impact on minors. The plaintiffs are seeking damages and changes to platform features, though any court-ordered modifications would be limited initially.
In a related development, the Treasury Department on Wednesday sanctioned 10 individuals and one entity for an alleged IT fraud scheme that funneled revenue to North Korea's weapons programs. The action underscores the growing scrutiny of tech-related activities that cross national security lines.
As the trial unfolds, the tech industry is also facing other regulatory pressures, including debates over prediction markets and data center policies. The case against Meta and Snap is likely to intensify calls for stronger federal oversight of social media design, even as state and local efforts to regulate platforms continue.
