Social Media Giants Face Landmark Legal Tests on Child Safety; The New York Times, January 27, 2026

Cecilia Kang, The New York Times ; Social Media Giants Face Landmark Legal Tests on Child Safety

"Are social media apps addictive like cigarettes? Are these sites defective products?

Those are the claims that Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube will face this year in a series of landmark trials. Teenagers, school districts and states have filed thousands of lawsuits accusing the social media titans of designing platforms that encouraged excessive use by millions of young Americans, leading to personal injury and other harms.

On Tuesday, the first of these bellwether cases is scheduled to start with jury selection in California Superior Court of Los Angeles County. A now-20-year-old Californian identified by the initials K.G.M. filed the lawsuit in 2023, claiming she became addicted to the social media sites as a child and experienced anxiety, depression and body-image issues as a result.

The cases pose one of the most significant legal threats to Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube, potentially opening them up to new liabilities for users’ well-being. Drawing inspiration from a legal playbook used against Big Tobacco last century, lawyers plan to use the argument that the companies created addictive products.

A win could open the door to more lawsuits from millions of social media users. It could also lead to huge monetary damages and changes to social media sites’ designs."

A Warning on Social Media Is the Very Least We Can Do; The New York Times, June 17, 2024

Pamela Paul, The New York Times ; A Warning on Social Media Is the Very Least We Can Do

"You’re in the middle of a public health emergency involving a dangerously addictive substance — let’s say an epidemic of fentanyl or vaping among teens. Which of the following is the best response?

1. Issue a warning. Tell everyone, “Hey, watch out — this stuff isn’t good for you.”

2. Regulate the dangerous substance so that it causes the least amount of harm.

3. Ban the substance and penalize anyone who distributes it...

Other objections to regulation are that it’s difficult to carry out (so are many things) and that there’s only a correlative link between social media and adverse mental health rather than one of causation.

Complacency is easy. The hard truth is that many people are too addicted to social media themselves to fight for laws that would unstick their kids. Big Tech, with Congress in its pocket, is only too happy for everyone to keep their heads in the sand and reap the benefits. But a combination of Options 2 and 3 are the only ones that will bring real results."