A landmark social media addiction trial began on Tuesday in California, where a 19-year-old woman identified as KGM alleges that the algorithms of major tech platforms led to her addiction and harmed her mental health.

• Defendants include Meta (owner of Instagram, Facebook), ByteDance (TikTok), and Google (YouTube), with Snapchat having settled previously.
• The case challenges the legal theory of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which tech firms use to shield themselves from liability for third-party content.
• Matthew Bergman, KGM's attorney, stated this is the first time a social media company will be held accountable by a jury for design choices rather than third-party content.
• Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify, having previously stated that "the existing body of scientific work has not shown any causal link between social media and young people having worse mental health outcomes."
• This trial comes amid increasing scrutiny, with calls for regulation, lawsuits from US states, and countries like Australia implementing social media bans for those under 16.