'The 'engineering of addiction' explained — 3 ways Meta and YouTube have harmed young users, according to the landmark case

On Wednesday, a Los Angeles jury found that Meta and Google are liable for designing products that are deliberately addictive and failing to warn users about the nature of their products.

This is huge news, a landmark verdict that will inform hundreds of cases to come. While the plaintiff, a 20-year-old identified only as KGM, has been awarded $6m in damages, it's the verdict itself that's most damaging, as it opens the door to many more lawsuits against tech companies.

According to a report in The Guardian, KGM testified that "she became addicted to YouTube at age six and Instagram at nine, which she said had deleterious effects on her wellbeing". She began self-harming at age 10 and was diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder and social phobia in her early teens.

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