Facing 'addictive platform' charges, YouTube's lawyer says: We work more like Netflix, and not like …

Google-owned YouTube doesn’t consider itself a social media service and claims it isn't addictive. This argument came during the second day of opening statements in a social media addiction trial in the US. The company's lawyers said YouTube is an entertainment platform, more like Netflix than a social network like Facebook, with people using the video streaming app to learn how to cook, knit, and become pop stars rather than endlessly scrolling. While talking about the app's video recommendation algorithm during the trial, Luis Li, YouTube's lawyer, contended, "It's not trying to get in your brain and rewire it. It's just asking you what you like to watch.” In this case, a 20-year-old California woman identified as K.G.M. has accused YouTube and Meta's Instagram of creating addictive apps that harmed mental health. The trial, in the California Superior Court of Los Angeles, is the first in a series against Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube, testing whether social media use can lead to addiction comparable to slot machines at casinos and cigarettes. Teenagers, school districts and states have filed thousands of lawsuits against the tech companies, accusing them of designing their platforms to encourage excessive use. The social media companies have argued that there is no scientific evidence proving that their platforms cause addiction and have pointed to a federal law that protects them from liability for what their users post online. A win by the plaintiff could open the door to monetary damages in similar lawsuits, and judges could order the companies to change their app designs.YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, Facebook parent Meta’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, and Instagram head Adam Mosseri are among the executives expected to testify in the trial.In his opening statements, Mark Lanier, the plaintiff KGM's attorney, claimed that internal documents from YouTube's parent company, Google, referred to features as “slot machines.” He also pointed to Meta documents showing employees had twice said its methods reminded them of those of tobacco companies.He said KGM's case was “as easy as ABC. Addicting, brains, children. They didn't just build apps, they built traps. They didn't want users; they wanted addicts,” NYT reported.YouTube's lawyer Li challenged that the video streaming site was not designed for infinite scrolling. Instead, users come to the service for specific clips, how-to videos, and highlight reels, showing the jury screenshots from an Ariana Grande music video and highlights from an NFL game, he said, NYT reported"If you don't like it, turn it off — it's that simple. Infinite scroll is not infinite,” he added.He also said that, between 2020 and 2024, KGM used YouTube for 29 minutes a day, only four of which were spent on videos automatically suggested to her. Most of the remaining time was spent streaming music, while a minute a day was devoted to YouTube's service YouTube Shorts, which lets users scroll through short-form vertical videos.In a statement to The Wrap, Li said that his case showed KGM “is not addicted to YouTube and never has been.”“The data proves she spent little more than a minute a day using the very features her lawyers claim are addictive,” he explained.Meanwhile, Meta's attorney, Paul Schmidt, said that KGM's mental health issues stemmed from familial abuse, not its apps. He pointed to her family history and noted how her therapy sessions were not related to her use of social media.“There is no dispute in this case that she's experienced mental health struggles. Was it Instagram or other causes? That's the hearthstone that we'll talk about,” Schmidt said, according to NYT.A Meta spokesperson said the company disagreed with the allegations and was “confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.” The spokesperson pointed to its 2024 launch of "teen accounts" on Instagram and its conversations with parents and law enforcement to introduce more safeguards."We're proud of the progress we've made, and we're always working to do better," the spokesperson added.