Meta, ByteDance, Alphabet, and Snap are alleged to be intentionally addicting teenagers. The cases have been granted leave by a Los Angeles court ruling, and this may be a historic move as far as the industry is concerned.

The representatives of Meta, ByteDance, Alphabet, and Snap will be put on trial on the lawsuits accusing them of creating social networks in such a way that they intentionally addicted teenagers to them. The first hearings in what may become a case of history for the whole industry have been cleared by a decision of a judge at the Los Angeles Superior Court. According to the Bloomberg resource, this is what is said.

Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl denied attempts by the companies to evade the case and ruled that the case against Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat can be tried by a jury. Some of the claims of negligence were not practically upheld, but important allegations stand.

The preliminary three trials will start in January – the users will be the first to testify regarding addiction and depression, anxiety, and other side effects of overusing social media. In the case of a success on the part of the plaintiffs, the companies may incur millions of dollars in damages and reforms that deal with the usage of the platforms by children.

The companies reject the allegations.

He also mentioned that the platform has had in place family control safeguards.

The attorneys of Snap also noted that: “Snapchat was created unlike the other social networks; it opens to the camera, which enables the Snapchat users to communicate with their family and friends in an atmosphere that puts their safety and privacy first.”

The case will be the first massive experiment on whether social networks should have a legal liability for the effect of their algorithm on the mental health of young people.