Jurors Begin Deliberations in Meta-YouTube Addiction Trial

Jurors in Los Angeles Superior Court began deliberations Friday in a landmark trial accusing Meta and Alphabet's YouTube of designing addictive features that harmed a young girl's mental health. The case, brought by a 20-year-old plaintiff identified in court documents as K.G.M. and referred to as Kaley by her attorneys, centers on her extensive early use of Instagram and YouTube, which she claims led to addiction, depression, suicidal thoughts and self-harm.

The trial, which lasted about a month, concluded with closing arguments Thursday before Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl. Attorneys for Kaley, a resident of Chico, California, argued that the platforms exploited vulnerable children through features like infinite scrolling, autoplay videos and constant notifications. Plaintiff's lawyer Mark Lanier likened these elements to "Trojan horses" that appear appealing but take over users' lives. He displayed an image of a lion stalking weak gazelles to illustrate how the companies targeted minors like Kaley, who began using Instagram around age 9 and uploaded more than 300 videos to YouTube by age 10.

Lanier cited internal company documents suggesting Meta and YouTube leaders recognized the...