Overview
- Kaley G.M., now 20, is scheduled to take the stand Wednesday, alleging childhood use of Instagram from age 9 and YouTube from age 6 contributed to depression and body dysmorphia.
- Plaintiffs point to features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, likes and beauty filters as engineered to keep children engaged despite known risks to well-being.
- YouTube vice president Cristos Goodrow testified that the platform optimizes for viewer value rather than maximizing time, even as the company pursued ambitious viewing goals and added autoplay.
- Newly public 2018 Meta documents show internal researchers proposed auditing features that might foster 'addictive'-like behaviors; Meta says it pursued other research and rolled out teen safety tools including 'take a break,' parental controls and Teen Accounts.
- YouTube’s lawyer cited court records showing the plaintiff averaged about 29 minutes of viewing daily over five years and 1 minute 14 seconds on Shorts, arguing she did not use available protections, while TikTok and Snapchat settled before trial as thousands of similar suits await outcomes.