In Landmark Social Media Trial, Big Tech Faces the Big Tobacco Playbook | Analysis

It can feel like everyone is addicted to their phones, scrolling Instagram and TikTok, sometimes oblivious to the world around them. But can it be proven in court that tech giants like Meta and YouTube deliberately hooked young people on their products, fueling anxiety, depression and body dysmorphia?

That’s the argument in a landmark trial now underway in Los Angeles, where Instagram chief Adam Mosseri testified Wednesday that social media use is not a “clinical addiction,” while Meta...