Lawyers argue that Instagram and YouTube intentionally addicted and harmed teen in landmark social media trial

By Clare Duffy, Samantha Delouya, CNN

Los Angeles (CNN) — Lawyers for a now-20-year-old woman are arguing that addictive features harmed her mental health in opening statements in a landmark trial against Meta and YouTube, the first of hundreds of similar cases to go to trial.

The plaintiff — identified by her first name, Kaley, or her initials, KGM — and her mother accused the tech companies of intentionally creating addictive platforms that caused her to develop anxiety, body dysmorphia and suicidal thoughts. Lawyers for Meta and YouTube have indicated they will argue that a difficult family life, not social media, was responsible for her mental health challenges.

Speaking on Monday in front of a jury in state court in Los Angeles, Kaley’s lawyer Mark Lanier called social media apps like YouTube and Instagram “digital casinos,” saying the app’s “endless scroll feature” creates dopamine hits that can lead to addiction.

“This case is about two of the richest corporations who have engineered addiction in children’s brains,” Lanier said in his opening statement. “The swipe, for a child, like Kaley, this motion is a handle of a slot machine. But every time she swipes, it’s not for money, but for mental stimulation.”

Parents and safety advocates, who for years have called for more online guardrails, say the trial is a crucial moment of accountability. Executives including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan are expected to testify in the coming weeks.

The outcome of Kaley’s lawsuit could help guide how around 1,500 similar lawsuits against social media companies are resolved. Losses could put the tech firms on the hook for billions of dollars in damages and force them to change their platforms.

Kaley also sued Snap and TikTok. Both companies agreed to settle the case ahead of the trial, although they remain defendants in other cases.

The tech giants have long denied that their platforms harm young users, and they’ve rolled out safety features such as parental control tools, “take a break” reminders and content restrictions.

A Meta spokesperson said, “we strongly disagree with these allegations and are confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.” A YouTube spokesperson told CNN the lawsuit’s claims are “simply not true” and that “providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work.”

Plaintiff claims platforms create addictive ‘loop’

In his opening statement, Lanier presented internal documents from Meta and YouTube that he said showed the social media platforms’ goal to attract young kids and teens.

One decade-old internal strategy document from Meta said that if the company wanted to “win big with teens,” it must “bring them in as tweens.” Another internal document Lanier showed from YouTube suggested that the video streaming platform be used as a short-term digital babysitter while parents cook, clean or do laundry.

Lanier argued the apps use several tactics to hook young users including “infinite scroll and autoplay,” the “like” button, which Lanier equated to a “chemical hit” that teens looking for validation from their peers grow to crave, and so-called beauty filters that can alter a user’s face.

Kaley began using YouTube at the age of 6 and Instagram at the age of 9, Lanier said. YouTube lawyer Luis Li said during jury selection that Kaley claims that, at some points, she used YouTube for “six to seven hours a day.” Meta lawyer Paul Schmidt said that, at times, she used Instagram “for several hours a day.”

That was despite Kaley’s mother’s attempts to use third-party software to block access to the platforms, according to her complaint.

Kaley also alleges that on Instagram she experienced bullying and sextortion, a scam where a bad actor threatens to share explicit photos of a person if they don’t send money or more photos.

Kaley experienced a difficult upbringing. Her mother divorced her abusive father when Kaley was 3 years old and raised three children mainly as a single mom, Lanier said during jury selection.

Jury selection also underscored how widely the impacts of social media — both good and bad — are felt among disparate groups of people. Potential jurors expressed a range of opinions on social media during jury selection questioning, with some appearing concerned about the companies’ impact on society, their children and their older parents. Still, other potential jurors said they believed parents have a responsibility to monitor their children’s social media use.

Members of the final 18-person jury panel will be allowed to maintain their normal social media use throughout the trial. But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl, who is overseeing the trial, has instructed them not to search for or view any information related to the case or to change their settings to evaluate claims made during trial.

Tech giants have repeatedly relied on Section 230, a federal law that shields them from liability over content that their users post, as a defense against safety claims. Kuhl said last year that jurors should have the chance to consider whether design features implemented by the companies, like endlessly scrolling feeds, have contributed to mental health harms, rather than content alone.

On Monday, the jury was instructed not to hold Meta and YouTube liable for allowing third-party content, failing to remove third-party content or recommending third-party content.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly attributed the claim that Kaley once watched YouTube for hours each day. YouTube lawyer Luis Li was repeating a claim made by Kaley.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

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