Meta, Snap head back to LA court for social media addiction trial: What to know

The social media giants Meta and Snap are heading back to court this week for the latest trial in a lawsuit that alleges their platforms were intentionally designed to be addictive for young users. 

Jury selection begins in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday for a case brought by two teenage plaintiffs referred to as S.J. and K.D.B. The plaintiffs argue the design of the companies’ social media platforms caused or contributed to “serious mental health injuries they suffered as adolescents.” 

The bellwether case is among the thousands of claims brought against social media companies over the design of their platforms in recent years. The slated trial will mark the third of its kind this year. 

Here’s what to know about the trial.

Trial consolidates claims from two plaintiffs 

According to attorneys for S.J., the teenager from Illinois started using Snapchat at a young age, accessing app features like “Snapstreaks” and “Snapscore,” along with filters and push notifications. These features, attorneys allege, played a role in her compulsive use of Snapchat and played a role in S.J.’s depression, eating disorder, anxiety and self-harm. 

Like S.J., K.D.B., an 18-year-old from Mississippi, said she started using Instagram and Snapchat as a child. Citing features like streaks, endless scrolling, view counts and likes, K.D.B. alleges the products worsened her mental health, playing a role in her eating disorder, suicidal thoughts, depression and self-harm. 

Both plaintiffs also sued TikTok and YouTube but reached settlements with the platforms in the weeks ahead of the trial. Meta and S.J. also reached a settlement last week, her attorneys said. 

The platforms “intentionally designed their products to maximize users’ screen time, using complex algorithms designed to exploit human psychology and driven by advanced computer algorithms and artificial intelligence available to two of the largest technology companies in the world,” attorneys wrote in the complaint shared with The Hill. 

“Defendants have progressively modified their products to promote........

© The Hill