adminJury selection has begun in Los Angeles for what judges and lawyers are calling a bellwether fight over whether Big Tech deliberately engineered addictive platforms that damaged a young person’s life. This case, moving forward in California Superior Court, will test not only public outrage but the limits of civil liability against companies that built services used by billions.
At the center of the trial is a 19-year-old plaintiff identified as K.G.M., whose lawyers say prolonged use of social apps caused depression, anxiety, and suicide-related harms, claims that have already prompted late settlements from TikTok and Snapchat. Meta and Google’s YouTube are pressing ahead and face what could be massive exposure if juries buy the plaintiffs’ theory, with executives set to face intense scrutiny.
Even seasoned legal observers are warning this is a heavy lift for plaintiffs; Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley bluntly told viewers it will be very difficult to establish causation in this case. If proving a direct line from “infinite scroll” to a ruined life sounds like a job for science, that’s because it is — and courts are not laboratories for sweeping public policy experiments.
Conservatives should be clear-eyed about what’s at stake: hand the keys to regulation and punishment to juries in politically charged venues and you invite dangerous precedent. This litigation risks chilling innovation, expanding liability for the content and choices of private citizens, and weaponizing the courts to rewrite how Americans communicate and do business online.
Make no mistake, the human tragedies alleged in court deserve sympathy, but sympathy does not equate to state-backed retribution against an entire industry. Parents, schools, and local communities must be front and center in protecting children from harmful content and overuse, not trial lawyers and sympathetic juries in Los Angeles deciding broad policy for the whole country.
If juries were to slap tech companies with enormous awards, the fallout would be seismic — from skyrocketing costs and lost jobs to overly cautious platforms that stifle speech and entrepreneurial risk. The smarter conservative response is to push for targeted reforms that preserve free expression while demanding parental tools, school oversight, and transparent company practices without unleashing a legal bulldozer.
Hardworking Americans know common-sense accountability when they see it: demand better controls at home, insist schools teach media literacy, and let legislators craft clear rules rather than turning courts into de facto regulators. This case will be a headline for weeks, but real change will come from families and lawmakers who cherish freedom and responsibility more than courtroom grandstanding.
