Big Tech's Big Tobacco moment

Zuck has some explaining to do.

Today, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in Los Angeles in a landmark social media safety trial—one of several high stakes trials playing out across the country over allegations that the platforms harm children.

• The trial Zuck testified in today focuses on whether Meta’s platforms like Instagram are addictive for kids.
• A separate trial in New Mexico will examine whether Meta failed to prevent sexual exploitation of minors.
• This summer, a similar trial is expected to kick off in California, over whether Meta and other platforms have led to mental health issues in young users.

Zoom out: For years now, criticism has been building over social media’s role in skyrocketing rates of mental illness among young people. These trials are considered bellwethers, meaning how they end could indicate how thousands of others across the country do. And don’t forget, countries like Germany, Spain, and the UK are considering banning social media for children as well—judgements stateside could go a long way to determining the fate of social media around the globe.

Meta, of course, denies that its products are the source of harm. Last week, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri took the stand, disputing the notion that people can become clinically addicted to social media, comparing Meta’s products to bingeing Netflix shows.

The $11 billion fallout

If social media companies lose in court, there could be huge fines levied against Meta, TikTok, YouTube, and Snap, or even forced redesigns of their platforms. Another punishment could be an amendment to a law passed in 1996 called Section 230 that absolves social media companies of liability for content posted on their platforms.

The financial hit is nothing to scoff at, either. According to a Harvard study, social media companies made $11 billion from ads targeted at youths in 2022, with Instagram raking in $4 billion alone. But still, that’s not much compared to the $196 billion in ad revenue that Meta reported last year.

The big picture: If this really is a “Big Tobacco" moment for social media companies, the financial consequences of a loss in court may be overshadowed by how their role in society could be reshaped entirely.—LB