Overview
- The 20-year-old plaintiff, identified as K. G.M., told jurors she began using YouTube at about age 6 and Instagram at about age 9, describing near-constant use, fear of missing out and heavy reliance on filters that she says damaged her self-worth.
- Her lawyer cited records showing a day with 16 hours of Instagram use, while she recounted sneaking her phone at night, chasing notifications for a “rush” and withdrawing from family and friends.
- Former therapist Victoria Burke testified that social media was a contributing factor in the plaintiff’s adolescent mental-health struggles, noting no formal diagnosis of addiction and that such a diagnosis is not listed in the DSM.
- Meta and YouTube deny designing harmful products, with Instagram chief Adam Mosseri distinguishing clinical addiction from problematic use and YouTube pointing to account data and available safety tools to contest causation.
- TikTok and Snap settled before trial, the jury will continue hearing testimony and cross-examination into March, and the verdict is expected to guide outcomes in a broader wave of consolidated cases.