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Are Instagram and YouTube 'addiction machines'?

Social media goes on trial in California.

A landmark trial is underway in California that examines the mental health effects of Instagram and YouTube. Lawyers for the plaintiff, referred to as K.G.M., will argue that she suffered from mental health issues as a result of social media addiction. Her team claims that the named social media companies deliberately built 鈥渁ddiction machines鈥 that use the algorithm to keep young people hooked. K.G.M.鈥檚 lawyers also argue that Meta and YouTube failed to warn of the dangers to young users posed by the design of their platforms. Instagram and YouTube deny the allegations and argue that they can鈥檛 be held liable for users鈥 behaviour.

Lily Jamali, the 麻豆社鈥檚 North America Technology correspondent, is in Los Angeles for the case. She explains the arguments on both sides, previews who we will hear from and discusses the potential implications.

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Presenter: Iqra Farooq
Producers: William Lee Adams, Benita Barden and Ash Mohamed
Editor: Verity Wilde

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11 minutes

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  • Wed 11 Feb 2026 18:50GMT
  • Thu 12 Feb 2026 03:50GMT
  • Thu 12 Feb 2026 10:50GMT

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