— One of the many new phrases on Sweethearts’ conversation hearts. Who said romance was dead?
Tech
The Algorithm Meets the Courtroom
What’s going on: So, just how addictive is social media? We may be about to find out — at least in court. This week, a bellwether trial in Los Angeles kicked off a new legal fight over whether platforms like Meta and YouTube caused personal injury by creating addictive products. The case centers on a now-20-year-old who says she spent years glued to social apps as a kid — and later dealt with anxiety, depression, and body-image issues. Her lawsuit is one of the first of its kind to reach trial, and it could put CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg on the stand. It’s part of a much larger wave of litigation: More than 1,000 individual plaintiffs, hundreds of school districts, and dozens of state attorneys general across the country have filed similar suits. Their core argument? Platforms are engineered to keep users hooked.
What it means: These trials could shape what social media looks like in the future — from how feeds work to how platforms handle younger users. Juries matter here, since legal experts say real stories from teens about mental health can carry more weight than abstract arguments about tech policy and free speech. That approach echoes the strategy that worked against Big Tobacco, which reframed the issue from personal choice to product design. As many youth-safety laws remain tied up in legal challenges, lawyers hope the LA case will provide a new lane for change.
