Why we - and the AI industry - need a day in court for social media platform providers before they break open their checkbooks

Two down, two to go? There’s a landmark test case bubbling away in the US in which TikTok, Snap, Meta and YouTube stand accused by a California woman, known only as KGM, of their platforms being addictive and harming users.

In her lawsuit, KGM, who is 20 years old, says that becoming addicted to using the social media platforms led to her experiencing anxiety, depression, and body-image issues. The lawsuit also alleges that the platforms are designed to attract younger users with no consideration for the dangers of sexual predators, bullying and the promotion of self-harm and, ultimately, suicide.

Last week in Davos at the World Economic Forum annual meeting, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff caused a stir when he turned an appearance on a panel about AI-enabled growth into a conversation about irresponsible AI leading to the suicide of a teenager.

The specific cases he was referring to related ...