[WEEK 6 RECAP] The Heat is On...Big Tech on Trial: A Psychologist, A Whistleblower + Plaintiff Rests Their Case

This week inside the courtroom, science took center stage — and the stakes were higher than ever.

Dr. Kara Bagot, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist who helped develop the NIH’s landmark ABCD brain study, spent five days on the stand. She testified that to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, Kaley developed social media addiction — and that YouTube acted as the “gateway,” beginning at just six years old. She walked the jury through the platform features that fuel compulsive use: infinite scroll, autoplay, algorithms, notifications, likes, filters, Shorts, Reels, and the lack of meaningful age verification.

Under intense cross-examination from Meta and YouTube’s attorneys, Dr. Bagot held her ground — insisting on context over yes-or-no soundbites. Jurors watched closely. When she was finally excused, there as a quiet applause.

Then came former Meta safety executive and whistleblower Arturo Bejar. He testified that by 2019, Meta researchers had identified addiction as a serious issue — but leadership discouraged even using the word, replacing it with “problematic use.” He described internal knowledge of harmful design choices, ineffective safety tools, and what he called “dark patterns,” including the infamous “blue button” that discouraged user reporting.

Arturo also testified that age verification is not technically difficult — and that Meta could remove millions of under-13 users if it chose to.

Next up was child safety expert and mom, Brooke Istook. Brooke powerfully described the generational tech gap, Instagram's growth team promoting FINSTAs, misleading safety promises, and the no-win position families face trying to supervise platforms designed to outmaneuver them.

By week’s end, the Plaintiffs rested their case and the Defense began calling witnesses in the form of video depositions.

Meanwhile, outside this courtroom, the pressure is mounting. Big tech lobbyists have infiltrated important online safety legislation and 33 new families across 19 states have joined the consolidated JCCP litigation, with Roblox newly added to the complaints.

Thousands of families. Dozens of states. And now jurors — everyday people — watching some of the richest companies in the world fight a single family over what caused a young girl’s harm.

These are the tobacco trials of our generation.

We’re inside the courtroom translating it all in real time — joined this week by Christine Almadjian, legislative consultant and courtroom observer, and Lennon Torres of Heat Initiative — bringing you the moments that mattered, the legal context behind the strategy, and what it means for families everywhere.

Because this fight isn’t abstract.

It’s about the apps in our kids’ pockets.
It’s about truth, justice and accountability.
And it’s about whether these companies will finally be forced to change.

We stand with families.

The Heat is On...Big Tech on Trial is an investigative mini-series by Scrolling 2 Death, in partnership with Heat Initiative.

Video Editing expertly provided by Jacob Meade.