Social media trial continues as plaintiff’s therapist testifies in downtown LA

The therapist of a woman, who is using social media companies for allegedly designing their online platforms to be addictive without safety guardrails, took the stand in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday.

As the historic trial against Meta and Google continued for over two weeks, the clinician who treated the plaintiff, identified only as K.G.M., testified that she saw signs of social media affecting the then-pre-teen’s mental health.

The therapist said she believes Instagram did not cause her then-13-year-old patient’s mental health struggles, but the app contributed.

The plaintiff also reported other issues as a teen, including being bullied at school, according to the therapist.

When the attorneys for the social media companies questioned the therapist, she responded that the plaintiff was never formally diagnosed as addicted to social media.

As the landmark trial continues for the second week, the plaintiff was scheduled to testify Thursday after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stand last week.

Zuckerberg gave a tense and, at times, a combative testimony last Wednesday as he said preteens are barred from using his platforms. But he did admit that there are minors who break the rules to use them anyway.

Zuckerberg also told jurors that his company removes users who are found to be underage, suggesting it is up to users to read the terms.

The head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, also defended the platform in court two weeks ago, also arguing that social media platforms are not intentionally engineered to be addictive.

The plaintiff has reached a settlement with Snapchat and TikTok.

The trial is being closely watched as a test case for hundreds of similar pending lawsuits. The cases all generally allege various damages from what attorneys call addictive social-media platforms powered by “complex algorithms designed to exploit human psychology.”

Some legal observers predict the trial’s outcome could have an influence on future social-media platform regulation and accountability.