LOS ANGELES: Meta Platforms CEO and billionaire Fb founder Mark Zuckerberg is about to be questioned for the primary time in a US court docket on Wednesday (Feb 18) about Instagram’s impact on the psychological well being of younger customers, as a landmark trial over youth social media addiction continues.
Whereas Zuckerberg has beforehand testified on the topic earlier than Congress, the stakes are increased on the jury trial in Los Angeles, California. Meta could need to pay damages if it loses the case, and the decision might erode Large Tech’s longstanding authorized defence towards claims of person hurt.
The lawsuit and others prefer it are a part of a worldwide backlash towards social media platforms over kids’s psychological well being.
Australia has prohibited access to social media platforms for customers below age 16, and different international locations together with Spain are contemplating related curbs. Within the US, Florida has prohibited corporations from permitting customers below age 14. Tech business commerce teams are difficult the legislation in court docket.
The case entails a California girl who began utilizing Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube as a toddler. She alleges the businesses sought to revenue by hooking children on their providers regardless of realizing social media might hurt their psychological well being. She alleges the apps fuelled her melancholy and suicidal ideas and is looking for to carry the businesses liable.
Meta and Google have denied the allegations, and pointed to their work so as to add options that preserve customers protected. Meta has typically pointed to a Nationwide Academies of Sciences discovering that analysis doesn’t present social media adjustments children’ psychological well being.
The lawsuit serves as a check case for related claims in a bigger group of instances towards Meta, Alphabet’s Google, Snap and TikTok. Households, college districts and states have filed hundreds of lawsuits within the US accusing the businesses of fuelling a youth psychological well being disaster.
