Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube will face accusers in a series of lawsuits alleging that they intentionally design their platforms to be addictive.
The trials begin in Los Angeles Superior Court Tuesday, filed by a group of parents, teens and school districts. Once teens are addicted to the platforms, plaintiffs allege, they suffer from depression, self-harm, eating disorders and more. There are about 1,600 plaintiffs involving 350 families and 250 school districts.
"The fact that a social media company is going to have to stand trial before a jury ... is unprecedented," Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center and an attorney in the cases, said in a press conference.
The first case involves a 19-year-old identified as KGM and her mother, Karen Glenn. They are suing TikTok, Meta and YouTube because they say the companies created addictive features that damaged her mental health and led to self-harm and suicidal ideation. Snap was also a defendant in the case, but it settled the case last week.
Her case's outcome could help determine the outcomes of more than 1,000 injury cases against the companies. The case is expected to last several weeks.
