Tue, 10 Feb 2026

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 Instagram and YouTube owners built 'addiction machines', trial hears

The tech giants are under scrutiny over social media addiction in a landmark jury trial in Los Angeles

* The world's largest social media companies, Meta and YouTube, have been accused of creating "addiction machines" that target children.
* A landmark trial in California is examining the mental health effects of Instagram and YouTube on a plaintiff who was a minor when she started using them.
* Lawyers for Meta and YouTube argue that the plaintiff's addiction stemmed from other issues in her life, not their negligence.
* Documents shown in court include internal emails from Mark Zuckerberg and YouTube executives, which suggest that they intentionally targeted young users to increase advertising revenue.
* The trial will test legal arguments set forth by families claiming to have seen their children suffer due to their use of social media.
* Over the next several weeks, there will be testimony from experts, family members, and former Meta employees who became whistleblowers.
* The outcome of the trial may provide a benchmark for monetary damages that could impact thousands of similar cases across the United States.
* Other companies involved in the case, including Snap and TikTok, have already settled with the plaintiff.
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