Ruling against Tech Giants: Yes, It Can Lead to Addiction
In a U.S. legal case against Big Tech companies, a jury awarded damages to a plaintiff. The ruling could be the beginning.
Can online platforms such as Instagram and YouTube be addictive? That's the key question that was argued in a court in Los Angeles. The jury decided yes, that is the case — and they awarded the plaintiff millions of dollars in damages. It likely won’t be the last ruling in this case. The defendant companies, Meta and Google, announced their intention to appeal the ruling. But this case could lead to something much more powerful: the start of a turning point.
There is now broad consensus among scientists, consumer advocates and digital experts that these platforms in part rely on addiction-inducing mechanisms. There are, for example, automatically enabled push notifications that pop up in quick succession and disrupt concentration whenever a smartphone is nearby. Autoplay is the default — as soon as one video ends, the next starts automatically. Then there’s endless scrolling, which gives users the feeling they can’t close the app or website: After all, there might always be another interesting piece of content.
The ruling comes at a time when many countries are becoming more critical of Big Tech companies' practices. In Germany, the stock answer right now is a minimum age requirement — as if people ages 14 or 16 weren’t also affected by the negative consequences. The argument against banning addiction mechanisms as a better alternative to an age limit is often: What can Germany or Europe really do as long as the U.S. doesn’t follow suit?
However, the ruling shows that resistance is growing there, too, even though a damages award of $6 million isn't particularly high. Yet, that could turn around. Further cases are pending, and corresponding rulings could form the basis for additional lawsuits by other affected parties. Once significant sums of money are at stake, even resilient companies can change very quickly.
Can online platforms such as Instagram and YouTube be addictive? That's the key question that was argued in a court in Los Angeles. The jury decided yes, that is the case — and they awarded the plaintiff millions of dollars in damages. It likely won’t be the last ruling in this case. The defendant companies, Meta and Google, announced their intention to appeal the ruling. But this case could lead to something much more powerful: the start of a turning point.
There is now broad consensus among scientists, consumer advocates and digital experts that these platforms in part rely on addiction-inducing mechanisms. There are, for example, automatically enabled push notifications that pop up in quick succession and disrupt concentration whenever a smartphone is nearby. Autoplay is the default — as soon as one video ends, the next starts automatically. Then there’s endless scrolling, which gives users the feeling they can’t close the app or website: After all, there might always be another interesting piece of content.
The ruling comes at a time when many countries are becoming more critical of Big Tech companies' practices. In Germany, the stock answer right now is a minimum age requirement — as if people ages 14 or 16 weren’t also affected by the negative consequences. The argument against banning addiction mechanisms as a better alternative to an age limit is often: What can Germany or Europe really do as long as the U.S. doesn’t follow suit?
However, the ruling shows that resistance is growing there, too, even though a damages award of $6 million isn't particularly high. Yet, that could turn around. Further cases are pending, and corresponding rulings could form the basis for additional lawsuits by other affected parties. Once significant sums of money are at stake, even resilient companies can change very quickly.
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