California Trial Puts Social Media Addiction Claims Against Tech Giants on Trial

Families accuse Meta and Alphabet of intentionally designing addictive platforms that harm minors' mental health

Published on Feb. 10, 2026

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A high-stakes legal battle has begun in a California courtroom, as hundreds of families accuse tech giants Meta and Alphabet of designing their social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, to be intentionally addictive for minors. The plaintiffs argue the platforms' features, like 'infinite scroll' and intermittent notifications, were meticulously crafted to exploit adolescents' developing brains, leading to devastating consequences like severe sleep deprivation, eating disorders, self-harm, and clinical depression. The tech companies maintain their platforms provide essential spaces for community and self-expression, and that they have implemented safety tools, but the families are attempting a new legal strategy by framing the apps as 'defective products' with inherent design flaws.

Why it matters

This trial represents the first major legal test of whether tech companies can be held liable for the mental health crisis affecting American youth. The outcome could set a precedent that forces a radical redesign of how social media functions for minors, potentially requiring the powerful corporations to prioritize user well-being over engagement-maximizing algorithms.

The details

The lawsuit targets Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, and Alphabet, which owns YouTube. Lawyers representing the families described a generation of children trapped in a cycle of compulsive social media use, arguing the platforms' features were meticulously crafted to exploit the developing brains of adolescents. The tech giants maintain their platforms provide essential spaces for community building and self-expression, and that they have implemented safety tools like parental controls. However, the plaintiffs are attempting to bypass traditional legal protections by framing the apps as 'defective products' with inherent design flaws.

  • The trial began on Monday, February 10, 2026 in a California courtroom.

The players

Meta

The parent company of Instagram and Facebook.

Alphabet

The parent company that owns YouTube.

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What’s next

As the trial progresses over the coming weeks, a parade of experts in neuroscience, psychology, and software engineering is expected to testify.

The takeaway

This landmark trial could force tech giants to fundamentally rethink how their social media platforms are designed and operated, potentially requiring them to prioritize user well-being and mental health over engagement-maximizing algorithms that have been blamed for fueling a youth mental health crisis.