As Meta Platforms and Google start presenting their defense in a landmark trial over social media addiction, the companies are pushing back on claims by the 20-year-old who brought the case that they’re solely to blame for her mental health struggles.
Lawyers for Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, have indicated they plan to call the woman’s therapists as witnesses to demonstrate that her psychological trauma came from turmoil in her family and school life rather than the platforms.
Google’s team, meanwhile, is highlighting her historical usage of YouTube to show that in recent years, she spent an average of just a half hour a day on the video-sharing site — not enough time to qualify as addiction.
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