Disturbing evidence shows Big Tech intentionally designed its products to addict kids – no matter the damage
Microsite to be updated with new material throughout the trial
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As opening statements in the landmark social media addiction trials begin this week, The Tech Oversight Project launched a new microsite to spotlight evidence from these lawsuits. The documents on the site show a clear pattern: Meta, Google, Snap, and TikTok deliberately designed their platforms to keep kids hooked, tracked, and exploited. Emails and instant messages among company employees, presentations from internal meetings, expert testimony, and more reveal that kids’ addiction was core to their business model.
“This is a never-before-seen look under the hood at Big Tech’s years of lies about their harmful and outright dangerous products. The already-unsealed evidence makes it clear that CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg, Adam Mosseri, and Evan Spiegel have been lying to the American people for years about the damaging impact product features like infinite scroll, autoplay, and algorithmically-curated feeds have on kids – causing serious mental health issues and exposing them to sexual predators in the process,” said Sacha Haworth, Executive Director of The Tech Oversight Project. “Make no mistake: unearthing this evidence and forcing Big Tech CEOs to answer for it in a court of law is an important step forward. Uncovering the truth will inspire lawmakers in Congress and statehouses across the country to take action to ensure this never happens again.”
BACKGROUND:
Opening arguments will begin this week in the first of 24 bellwether personal injury state cases. This case focuses on plaintiff K.G.M., who says she became addicted to social media platforms as a child, which led to anxiety, depression, and body image issues.
In addition to the California state law cases, federal cases with more than 235 plaintiffs, including local and state government Attorneys General, school districts, and families, are moving through a similar multi-district litigation process. The trial in the federal cases will be held in San Francisco and is scheduled to begin in June. The microsite contains evidence from both trials and will be regularly updated as K.G.M.’s trial proceeds and more evidence is unsealed.
The social media addiction cases are considered the most significant Big Tech accountability litigation to date, drawing parallels to precedent-setting products liability cases against Big Tobacco. This is the first time Big Tech executives will testify and answer questions about knowingly harming kids, and this is the first time they could be held liable for their dangerously designed and harmful social media products.
