Last week, Mark Zuckerberg took the stand in a bellwether trial against Meta. He stands accused of unleashing an addictive product on an American child, “Kaley”, with devastating consequences. Kaley’s story of addiction may feel uncomfortably familiar to many parents, with Australian teens spending an average of about 14.4 hours per week on social media.
Two aspects of this trial are especially noteworthy. First, other digital platforms initially named in the case have elected to settle out of court. Unlike Meta and Zuckerberg, TikTok and Snap did not fancy their prospects before a jury. Addictive and unsafe products are an industry-wide issue, and the industry knows the evidence against them is compelling – perhaps TikTok and Snap can see the writing on the wall.