Big Tech is going on trial. Starting at the end of this month with jury selection, the major social media addiction trials are being compared to historic litigation against big tobacco and opioid manufacturers, with potential for billions in damages and forced changes to platform designs.
Plaintiffs, including teenagers and school districts, allege that features like “infinite scroll,” algorithmic recommendations, and autoplay were designed to foster compulsive use and mental health issues.
“The litigation is being compared to past landmark cases against big tobacco and opioid manufacturers—industries that were held accountable for public health harms after years of denial,” Beasley Allen, a law firm involved in the lawsuits on the plaintiff side, said.
The California case, which will take place at the Los Angeles County Superior Court, is the first of three “bellwether” trials consolidating thousands of lawsuits. Judge Carolyn Kuhl ruled that the names of the jurors’ names will will remain anonymous to the social media companies and only revealed to lawyers in the trial.
“Counsel cannot share the identity of jurors with their clients,” Kuhl wrote in her order.
While Snap Inc. (Snapchat) reached a settlement in January 2026 to avoid the landmark trial, the case will proceed against Meta (Facebook/Instagram), ByteDance (TikTok), and Alphabet (YouTube).
“This is a case about minor Plaintiffs’ alleged addiction to Defendants’ social media platforms and the alleged adverse effects flowing from that addiction,” Kuhl said.
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