Meta and YouTube suffered a devastating legal blow after losing a landmark trial about social media addiction. This ruling, which some have compared to Big Tech's "Big Tobacco moment," could have profound implications for the tech industry, including AI companies.

The case, which involved a young woman who suffered mental health problems as a direct result of using the platforms, did not focus on user-generated content, but on the design features of the platforms, such as infinite scroll and beauty filters. It was argued that these elements, created by the companies themselves, fostered addictive and harmful products.

Essentially, the case tested the idea that "it's a feature, not a bug." The jury determined that the platforms were defective products, distributed to the public without the necessary precautions or warnings about their potential harm.

Meta and YouTube have announced that they will appeal the decision, but the same core argument is currently being tested against the newest technology: AI. The legal precedent sets a basis for holding tech companies accountable for the design of their products.

Currently, three AI companies, OpenAI (creator of ChatGPT), Google (creator of Gemini), and Character.AI, are facing a series of high-profile consumer safety and wrongful death lawsuits stemming from users' experiences with their chatbots.

These lawsuits involve both minors and adults, and the alleged outcomes vary. Some allege that the chatbots acted as "suicide coaches," while others claim that the chatbots led to delusional spirals, mental health crises, and psychological harm. Some of these cases have resulted in deaths, reputational damage, financial ruin, alienation, and hospitalizations.

The lawsuits allege that AI companies acted recklessly by releasing unsafe products to the market for profit, making intentional design decisions, such as the anthropomorphism of chatbots, that kept users hooked despite the harm to their well-being.

These lawsuits focus on corporate negligence and how tech products are built to function. The outcome of the trial against Meta and YouTube supports these accusations.

In response to the lawsuits, AI companies have offered condolences to the families but have defended their products and safety efforts. Character.AI and OpenAI have made changes to their platforms, implementing parental controls and assembling a panel of health experts.

However, the industry remains effectively self-regulated. Furthermore, the cases against AI do not focus on user-generated content, but on users' relationship with the AI's own output.

Some lawyers see the outcome of the Meta and YouTube case as a harbinger of chatbot trials. Meetali Jain, director of the Tech Justice Law Project (TJLP), stated that the decision "makes it clear" that "Americans can plainly see that tech corporations are making specific design choices about their tech products that are harming our communities to benefit their bottom line".

Jain added that "regardless of the specific tech product, it is these choices and their resulting impacts that tech corporations must be held accountable for".