From: punditster@gmail.com   
      
   First, they make free speech a crime. Then they come for you phone.   
      
   The question is, are social media apps addictive like cigarettes?   
      
   "Those are the claims that Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube will face this   
   year in a series of landmark trials. Teenagers, school districts and   
   states have filed thousands of lawsuits accusing the social media titans   
   of designing platforms that encouraged excessive use by millions of   
   young Americans, leading to personal injury and other harms.   
      
   On Tuesday, the first of these bellwether cases is scheduled to start   
   with jury selection in California Superior Court of Los Angeles County.   
   A now-20-year-old Californian identified by the initials K.G.M. filed   
   the lawsuit in 2023, claiming she became addicted to the social media   
   sites as a child and experienced anxiety, depression and body-image   
   issues as a result.   
      
   The cases pose one of the most significant legal threats to Meta, Snap,   
   TikTok and YouTube, potentially opening them up to new liabilities for   
   users’ well-being. Drawing inspiration from a legal playbook used   
   against Big Tobacco last century, lawyers plan to use the argument that   
   the companies created addictive products.   
      
   A win could open the door to more lawsuits from millions of social media   
   users. It could also lead to huge monetary damages and changes to social   
   media sites’ designs."   
      
   Social Media Giants Face Landmark Legal Tests on Child Safety   
   New York Times, Cecilia Kang, Jan. 27, 2026, 12:00 a.m. ET   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)