Over a dozen parents of children who died, they contend, after being victimized via online apps, held a solemn vigil outside the Los Angeles courthouse where a landmark trial began this week, alleging that addictive media apps harmed a young woman’s mental health.
Lawyers for the plaintiff – a now 20-year-old woman identified as K.G.M. – argue that the design features of Meta apps – Facebook and Instagram – and YouTube, which is owned by Google, caused her to become addicted to them from a young age. TikTok and Snapchat settled with K.G.M. before the LA trial began.
She claims the platforms are intentionally addictive, fueling her depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia and suicidal ideation.
The LA trial brings together 24 “bellwether” cases from over 2,000 personal injury cases currently pending in California against Google, Meta, TikTok and Snapchat. A verdict against Meta and YouTube could guide how the pending lawsuits are resolved, potentially costing the companies billions of dollars in damages and forcing them to alter their social media platforms.
Many of the parents who participated in the vigil are among those who have filed lawsuits.
“I’m here today for accountability, I’m here today for transparency and I’m here to be in that courtroom,” said Lori Schott, who took part in the recent vigil in memory of her daughter Annalee. At the age of 18, Annalee died by suicide after becoming addicted to social media, which contributed to her depression and exposed her to content that encouraged suicide.
“I had no idea what I was parenting against,” explained Schott. “My daughter had no idea what algorithm feeds were. She had no idea that just because she was looking up a T-shirt for a suicide awareness campaign 5K run, that her algorithms were changed.”
As a result, her daughter started receiving content that pushed pro-suicide messages, she said.
“It would start sending her content that said … ‘Why don’t you take your life? All your pain will be gone,’” added Schott. “These are things that were pushed to her that she could never unsee.”
A Heartbreaking Vigil
During a vigil held last week, parents held up 11 framed photos of their deceased children and stood for 2,000 seconds (about 33 minutes) – one second for each of the estimated 2,000 pending cases. Organizers also set up photos of nearly 30 additional kids who also died from app-related harms. Those photos were sent by parents from across the country who were unable to attend the vigil.
The parents released a joint statement “on behalf of our children who can’t be here.” The statement read:
“Social media platforms are deliberately designed to addict kids, trapping them in spaces far more dangerous than anything we would ever allow in the real world. These trials will show that Meta, Google, Snapchat and TikTok are no better than the tobacco companies, intentionally addicting children … to create lifelong consumers from those who survive.”
Julianna Arnold’s daughter Coco is among those who tragically did not survive. She was 17 when she died of fentanyl poisoning after an Instagram drug dealer sold her counterfeit Percocet. She didn’t know it would be laced with fentanyl.
“There’s an open portal there for all sorts of … predators, all sorts of horrible things that are being pushed by their algorithms to our children that they’re not even searching for,” said Arnold. “[This] week would have been my daughter’s 21st birthday and I will be in this courtroom [every day], and she will be there with me – getting justice.”
A Landmark Trial
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, is expected to be called as a witness during the trial, which is likely to run until March. Lawyers for Meta and YouTube have indicated they will argue that the plaintiff’s mental health challenges stemmed from having a difficult family life and not from the use of social media.
This is the first time tech company executives will testify about potential harm to kids. Plaintiffs claim that social media platforms are “defective products” that can cause psychological harm to minors. Design features that are utilized to maximize engagement on social media platforms – such as infinite scroll, autoplay and content curated by algorithms – can negatively impact kids’ growing minds, leading to compulsive use, sleep disruption and mental health issues, according to plaintiffs. They are seeking meaningful design changes and industry-wide safeguards.
“To me it’s about accountability,” said Christine McComas of Maryland. Her daughter Grace was just 15 years old when she died by suicide after being subjected to cyberbullying and malicious death-wishing messages. “I do not have a case, but I’m here [because] I lost my child to social media way back in 2012. … This is an addictive product, intentionally made so. It’s a business model to keep kids addicted online to collect their data and then sell it for billions each year.
“They are making choices,” she continued, “against the well-being, the health and safety, and the privacy of our children.”