A Los Angeles jury ruled that Meta and Youtube are liable for designing their platforms to be addictive, which caused the plaintiff mental harm. What are the implications of this verdict for Silicon Valley and the companies involved? What about the implications for the wider public – is this the beginning of the end of the social media revolution?
On 25 March, the courts found Meta and Youtube liable for damages worth $6m, in a case which has the potential to change the way we view the engineering of social media. The plaintiff, a 20-year-old woman identified by the initials K.G.M., claimed that the design of these platforms caused her to become addicted, alleging that it was this addiction which led to her depression and subsequent self-harm.
The engineering of our social media platforms, namely infinite scrolling capabilities, auto-play, and algorithms targeting your previous viewing, were not subject to “any meaningful safety reviews,” claims former Facebook engineer Arturo Béjar. Béjar also notes that the well-being team at Meta — designed to focus on mental health and suicide — accounts for less than 20 people.
It is the opinion of these companies, Meta and Youtube, that engagement is an independent decision, and that addiction has little to do with the features of constant content entrenched within their platforms. Meta stated that “Teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app.” This ruling, however, proves that the public are victims of a Silicon Valley induced compulsion for infinite content consumption.
How many of us have lived in cyberspace for hours on end, doom-scrolling and seeking constant serotonin boosts from the mindless act of simply opening social media? I can attest to the ease at which one can be provided with endless entertainment at the click of a button.
The resulting strain on our generation, an epidemic of mental health issues, body dysmorphia, and anti-social disorders, have been liberated by this decision. It is the sinister workings of power-hungry, SIlicon Valley ‘tech bros’ that have taken advantage of the young minds of today, and it is their negligence which must be scrutinised, hopefully incurring a revolution of liability within social media platforms that reduce the harm they so obviously cause.
The fallible minds of children should not be subject to endless, asinine media. The old proverb stressed by our parents to ‘put that phone down’ may just be the key to less children and young adults becoming victims of social-media induced mental health issues. As the plaintiff highlighted, she was six years old when she became addicted to YouTube, and nine years old when addicted to Instagram.
Whether or not such rulings alter our hunger for content is irrelevant, what it will do is establish within social media platforms a level of legal responsibility in preventing their users from over-consumption. Meta, as stated by Shermin Lakha, founder of law firm Lvlup Legal, will be under considerable public pressure to start marking content as child-friendly. A low bar in terms of protective measures, but encouraging nonetheless.
This decision must create a cultural shift in our estimation of social media. Not as a community space which has elevated our global connection, but as a damaging and dangerous tool, unregulated and controlled by a powerful group of technocratic elites.
Photo by Berke Citak on Unsplash
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Designed to Addict: Are Social Media Companies Finally Being Held Accountable?
A Los Angeles jury ruled that Meta and Youtube are liable for designing their platforms to be addictive, which caused the plaintiff mental harm. What are the implications of this verdict for Silicon Valley and the companies involved? What about the implications for the wider public – is this the beginning of the end of the social media revolution?
On 25 March, the courts found Meta and Youtube liable for damages worth $6m, in a case which has the potential to change the way we view the engineering of social media. The plaintiff, a 20-year-old woman identified by the initials K.G.M., claimed that the design of these platforms caused her to become addicted, alleging that it was this addiction which led to her depression and subsequent self-harm.
The engineering of our social media platforms, namely infinite scrolling capabilities, auto-play, and algorithms targeting your previous viewing, were not subject to “any meaningful safety reviews,” claims former Facebook engineer Arturo Béjar. Béjar also notes that the well-being team at Meta — designed to focus on mental health and suicide — accounts for less than 20 people.
It is the opinion of these companies, Meta and Youtube, that engagement is an independent decision, and that addiction has little to do with the features of constant content entrenched within their platforms. Meta stated that “Teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app.” This ruling, however, proves that the public are victims of a Silicon Valley induced compulsion for infinite content consumption.
How many of us have lived in cyberspace for hours on end, doom-scrolling and seeking constant serotonin boosts from the mindless act of simply opening social media? I can attest to the ease at which one can be provided with endless entertainment at the click of a button.
The resulting strain on our generation, an epidemic of mental health issues, body dysmorphia, and anti-social disorders, have been liberated by this decision. It is the sinister workings of power-hungry, SIlicon Valley ‘tech bros’ that have taken advantage of the young minds of today, and it is their negligence which must be scrutinised, hopefully incurring a revolution of liability within social media platforms that reduce the harm they so obviously cause.
The fallible minds of children should not be subject to endless, asinine media. The old proverb stressed by our parents to ‘put that phone down’ may just be the key to less children and young adults becoming victims of social-media induced mental health issues. As the plaintiff highlighted, she was six years old when she became addicted to YouTube, and nine years old when addicted to Instagram.
Whether or not such rulings alter our hunger for content is irrelevant, what it will do is establish within social media platforms a level of legal responsibility in preventing their users from over-consumption. Meta, as stated by Shermin Lakha, founder of law firm Lvlup Legal, will be under considerable public pressure to start marking content as child-friendly. A low bar in terms of protective measures, but encouraging nonetheless.
This decision must create a cultural shift in our estimation of social media. Not as a community space which has elevated our global connection, but as a damaging and dangerous tool, unregulated and controlled by a powerful group of technocratic elites.
Photo by Berke Citak on Unsplash
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