Lawsuit against Meta, TikTok, and YouTube over alleged addiction in children

Three of the world’s biggest tech companies face a landmark trial in the United States starting this week over claims that their platforms deliberately addict and harm children, Euronews writes.

The lawsuit was mounted by a 19-year-old identified only by the initials “KGM,” who claims her use of Meta’s Instagram, ByteDance’s TikTok, and Google’s YouTube at an early age led to exacerbated depression and suicidal thoughts.

KGM claims in the suit that the companies made deliberate design choices similar to techniques used at casinos to make their platforms more addictive to children in order to boost profits.