The Daily Aus The first social media addiction trial
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Mar 26, 2026 A landmark court fight over whether social platforms are engineered to be addictive. A close look at legal claims targeting design features like algorithms and endless scrolling. Internal company documents and testimony that swayed a jury. What the verdict, damages and appeals might mean for the future of major apps.
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Design Not Content Was On Trial
- The lawsuit targeted platform design features, not content, arguing algorithms, infinite scroll, autoplay, notifications and filters were engineered to create addiction.
- Lawyers compared these mechanics to casinos and tobacco and emphasized internal design choices rather than individual posts.
Kaylee's Firsthand Account Of Compulsion
- Kaylee testified that from a young age she checked likes in class and used beauty filters, describing persistent urges to monitor feeds even at work.
- Her story included running to bathrooms at school to check engagement and long-term effects on self-worth.
Internal Documents Show Intent To Hook Tweens
- Prosecutors showed internal Meta documents revealing a strategy to recruit tweens because early adoption predicted long-term teen engagement.
- One document said, if we want to win big with teens, we must bring them in as tweens and highlighted 11-year-olds' higher return rates.