KGM, otherwise known as 20-year-old Kaley, initially sued YouTube and Meta in 2023. The lawsuit centered around KGM’s accusation that the platforms instilled addictive features, ultimately being the leading cause of her mental health issues, such as depression and suicidal thoughts.
Growing up in Chico, California, KGM had a complex relationship with her mother. During the trial, she was questioned about the claims that her mother had both abused and neglected her throughout most of her childhood. “She wasn’t perfect, but she tried her best,” KGM said. She went on to explain that she does not classify her mother’s past behavior as abusive.
KGM says she was introduced to social media from very early on. She started using YouTube at age six and Instagram at age nine. She mentioned how in the past, she would create several accounts on these platforms to like and comment on her main account via these alternative accounts. She also admitted to buying likes in order to boost her post’s popularity, further supplying her with that rush that she would gain from social media notifications.
A 35-foot-long banner was then rolled out, containing all the photos that KGM had posted on Instagram throughout her time on the app. She claimed that the majority of the photos had some type of filter on them. This is only a small part of her accusation towards the filters being the leading cause of her body dysmorphia. As far back as her earliest YouTube videos, KGM makes negative comments about her own appearance. Although Meta’s lawyer, Paul Schmidt, makes the statement that KGM had mental health problems before using filters and even social media in general, KGM counters the claim by stating that she did not struggle with body dysmorphia before using either.
KGM’s former therapist testified in the trial that her client’s self-perception was closely linked to her activity on social media, saying the time spent on the platforms would either “make or break her mood.”
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO, testified in the trial as well. When asked if he believes people tend to use something more if it’s addictive, Zuckerberg shut down the question.
“I don’t think that applies here,” Zuckerberg said. “If something is valuable, people will use it more because it is valuable.”
After weeks of back-and-forth accusations, the jury decided that both YouTube and Meta were found liable for failing to warn users about the dangers of using their platforms in the recent social media trial. The companies have been ordered to pay a total of $6 million.
