Well considering it’s their PUBLIC BUSINESS PLAN, I don’t think you’re gonna have a hard time proving it.
Lawyers set to argue that Instagram and YouTube intentionally addicted and harmed teen in landmark social media trial
Submitted 3 weeks ago by Beep@lemmus.org to technology@lemmy.world
https://lite.cnn.com/2026/02/09/tech/instagram-youtube-social-media-trial
Comments
mycodesucks@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
robocall@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Reddit addicted me for 12+ years. Sue them too.
jaybone@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
Can you sue people for being assholes?
robocall@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
You can sue people for any reason in the world!
lastlybutfirstly@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
This is the modern version of the Judas Priest backwards masking case.
nyctre@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
How so? These companies are actively trying to make their platforms addictive. And it’s pretty well established at this point that social media is harmful to mental health, is it not? It’s a society and parenting issue as well, obviously, but that doesn’t mean these companies shouldn’t be regulated.
The Judas case was complete bullshit, however. The message was “do it”, wasn’t it? So even if it had been a purposeful subliminal message, it’s like saying Nike’s slogan is harmful. It’s silly.
lastlybutfirstly@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
And it’s pretty well established at this point that social media is harmful to mental health, is it not?
In the same way it was well established that heavy metal was harmful to mental health in the 80s. The moral panics of the 80s seem goofy to people today, but back then it was just as deadly serious and real as the magical mystery algorithms hacking and controlling our brains today.
The evil YouTube wizardry is currently recommending me videos about the Flax engine, Blender, Satisfactory, and old clips of Norm MacDonald. If it’s telling you to kill yourself, that’s because you’re asking it how to. It’s just matching keywords in videos: user watched video with keywords Einstein, gravity, and relativity therefor, recommend Einstein Oppenheimer clip, Kerbal Space Program review, and Sabine Hossenfelder video. Replace those keywords with nasty ass shit and you’re getting more nasty ass shit.
On Reddit, I always find it hilarious when people out themselves when they’re complaining about porn sites sending them some weird ass videos. “Oh man! I don’t understand why Pornhub keeps showing me videos of women being strangled!” No, no, you don’t understand but I sure as hell do.
Kolanaki@pawb.social 3 weeks ago
“What’s the Ozman trying to say here, Nicky?”
“John, absolutely nothing. The blizzard always came straight with his messages. But wrap your minds around this, gentleman. Chicago.”
I command you in the name of Lucifer to spread the blood of the innocent!
“Whoa! Chicago kicks ass!”
Sharkticon@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
I’m certainly rooting for them, I hope this might be a first step in finding a way to regulate algorithms. I doubt that hope will be rewarded but got to have some.
SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
Can we do something about the literal fucking Nazis occupying our government first
lmmarsano@lemmynsfw.com 3 weeks ago
skill issue, failed parenting, & cash grab
vrek@programming.dev 3 weeks ago
This is a case where I wish we didn’t have a “jury of peers”. Most people don’t even know dompemine is a thing or it’s effects. Most people don’t know the effects a disfunctional family can cause.
No, I don’t understand them completely either. There are experts in these fields who have done valid research and run well documented studies to better understand these topics. They are who should determine this. No YouTube videos or a blog post don’t count. I mean actual real studies that stand up to scientific rigor.
I feel that YouTube/facebook played a part. But I want that to be true due to my inherit bias. I have no data or numbers to back that up. Experts probably do. There have likely been done studies about these things.
I know know there is a thing called a Skinner box but that was over 50 years ago and I’m sure we know more. That said I’d bet the average person on the street doesn’t even know that and shouldn’t be determining this case.
Ask your McDonald’s worker for something to release some dopamine after a long work day, based on their answer do you want them setting precedent on this topic?
jnod4@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Experts get bought, don’t forget smoking was healthy and prescribed for quite a long time
vrek@programming.dev 3 weeks ago
True, nothing is perfect.
If I need a life saving operation and given the choice of a Harvard graduate at random or a random person in time Square… I know who I would choose
OK the person from time square but that’s probably just my depression speaking.
NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
How is this any different than any entertainment? The goal is to keep people watching and consuming. Music, television, streaming services and so on. How can you be harmed by this without willingly participating? If you are a teeb where are your parents?
In the end, maybe someone should sue the government for continually eroding education, because it seems to me that an educated parent and teen could at least understand what the products they are consuming are trying to do.
fodor@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
Oh, my dear, if it’s the same, why do internal messages at Instagram and other such companies describe it differently? They know that they can tweak the algorithm to manipulate people, and especially children, into overusing their system. You can argue with us, but it gets absurd if you’re trying to argue that they don’t know what their own data tells them.
TV can’t do that. You turn on the channel or you don’t, that’s it. There’s no real time individual manipulation. Of course TV execs wish they had that power, but they don’t, so they didn’t get sued.
Now, is it actually addiction? That’s an interesting question. Some experts say no.
NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
Yes its the same. How is it any different? They don’t describe it any differently. This is literally what entertainment is: get people to watch what they are doing. Get them to come back and do it again. This has been going on forever.
I am not trying to argue that they can get people to observe their entertainment, I am arguing that a person is responsible for their own actions.
In 1920’s they did tests with audience for retention.
In the 50’s they did television workshops to mainpulate and retain audiences, including developing persona’s with actors that would encourage people to mimick them and retain their loyalty to brands and products. They established strong pyschological connections with shows and sponsers. Cliff hangers would bring the audience back week after week, and would be tested to discover what worked and what didnt.
Look up “reason why” advertising, that used every day problems presented in radio and tv to engage, hook, and hold the audience, while repetitively delivering advertising and solutions. One company alone was creating 100 scripts a week, the exact concept of endless, engaging content to hold their audience captive.
Don’t forget the quiz shows, that manipulated the game and deceived audiences, driving engagement.
Nothing is new, they just now have the delivery method in the persons hands. The same research is used today to tighten the algorithm and keep people interested.
TV can’t do that. You turn on the channel or you don’t, that’s it. There’s no real time individual manipulation.
So TV can do that. Also, nothing has changed about walking away from it: you can turn off Instagram or TikTok. Same thing.
Is it worth talking about? Yes. Should people be aware that this is happening? Yes. Should people probably limit their screen time and go do something else? Yes.
So how do we help people understand that part? The corporation is just doing exactly what they always have done.
Maybe parents shouldn’t put devices in their kids hands from a young age and let them just watch whatever they want. No way a corporation could pass up that opportunity to place ads and create desire. Just like they always have.
You know what the difference was? In the 70’s the corps fought back. They hid their internal documents, they sued the government if their was regulations. And they won. They never had to reveal their internal documents (paper was better for a reason) and they didn’t have whistleblowers.
x00z@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I guess it has to start with actual broken people before we can actually stop them.
Everybody is getting hurt, kids, teens, adults, seniors. All of us. We’re constantly psychologically manipulated.
vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org 3 weeks ago
We’re constantly psychologically manipulated.
Yes, so about that - these things are actual power applied holding us on the necessary (for their owners) trajectory. There are already plenty of actual broken people. Nobody will stop them without a power solution. That is, a cure. A counter-manipulation technology, that manages to stay under the radar for its carriers to become strong enough before actually engaging in countering this.
I don’t see that future counterweight, perhaps that’s before, as said previously, it stays under the radar.
pkjqpg1h@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
The real consequences didn’t even started after 10 years when they realizes it’s to late for their and their children psychology and intellegence that’s will hurt companies so much
btsax@reddthat.com 3 weeks ago
Cool, can’t wait for nothing to happen afterwards
pleaseletmein@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
Countdown to ID verification requirements.
ParlimentOfDoom@piefed.zip 3 weeks ago
Weren’t internal emails leaked where YouTube and Instagram argued the exact same thing about themselves? And they tried to make it worse.
fluffykittycat@slrpnk.net 3 weeks ago
This isn’t going to be a win for us
Lfrith@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Bet they going to try to use it as an excuse to require age verification. They want to collect everyone’s selfies and IDs for online accounts.
fluffykittycat@slrpnk.net 3 weeks ago
This is literally a stepping stone to all pressing everyone and that’s why I’m not going to accept it, especially not into the phony pretense we’re given