Instagram, YouTube Addiction Trial Kicks Off in Los Angeles
744 Video Views·Feb 9, 2026
A California state court case over whether Instagram and YouTube harmed a woman's mental
health through addictive app design kicks off on Monday with opening statements in a test of
whether big tech platforms can be held liable for harming kids. The 20-year-old woman identified as
KGM filed the lawsuit against Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta Platforms and
Alphabet's Google, which owns YouTube, saying that the attention-grabbing design of the platforms
got her addicted to them at a young age. The apps fueled her depression and suicidal thoughts,
and she is seeking to hold the companies liable, she added. A verdict against the tech companies
could smooth the way for similar cases in state court and shake the industry's longstanding U.S.
legal defense against claims of user harm. In addition to cases like KGM's in state court,
the companies face more than 2,300 similar lawsuits
filed by parents, school districts, and state attorneys general in federal court.