Kimberly Adams

You highlight in your reporting that some people are calling this social media's big tobacco moment.

Do you think that comparison is apt?

Do you think that comparison is apt?

And how might it change the way that we even talk about social media and social media addiction in this country?

And how might it change the way that we even talk about social media and social media addiction in this country?

So I think it's very fair in terms of the legal strategy here in that what happened with the big tobacco trials was that over several years, attorneys generals and individuals sued the biggest tobacco companies for creating addictive products that were marketed to young people and for hiding the information that they knew internally about how harmful their products are.

So I think it's very fair in terms of the legal strategy here in that what happened with the big tobacco trials was that over several years, attorneys generals and individuals sued the biggest tobacco companies for creating addictive products that were marketed to young people and for hiding the information that they knew internally about how harmful their products are.

The exact same thing is happening in these trials.

The exact same thing is happening in these trials.

What the plaintiffs in these trials are saying is that these companies have studied and have acknowledged and have known about the potential harms of their products for quite some time and that the CEO's

What the plaintiffs in these trials are saying is that these companies have studied and have acknowledged and have known about the potential harms of their products for quite some time and that the CEO's

either ignored the advice and or the companies decided that it was too risky to the business model to change any of these technologies because they were so concerned about engagement going down and traffic going down.

either ignored the advice and or the companies decided that it was too risky to the business model to change any of these technologies because they were so concerned about engagement going down and traffic going down.

And so that's very similar to what was claimed in the tobacco trials and that they were personal injury claims and there was a failure to warn legal argument that the companies knew what was happening and they didn't tell the public.

And so that's very similar to what was claimed in the tobacco trials and that they were personal injury claims and there was a failure to warn legal argument that the companies knew what was happening and they didn't tell the public.

It also kind of shifted the conversation about smoking in America from sort of you're not able to stop because you have no willpower to you're not able to stop because these products were designed to make you not stop.

It also kind of shifted the conversation about smoking in America from sort of you're not able to stop because you have no willpower to you're not able to stop because these products were designed to make you not stop.

I think that's such an important point.

I think that's such an important point.

A whole generation of young people have struggled with regulating their own use of social media, but the fault and the finger pointing being toward the young person is