Is social media having its Big Tobacco moment?
The Global Story
BBC
3.8 • 669 Ratings
🗓️ 16 February 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
**This episode contains discussion of bullying, abuse and suicide** A landmark trial is underway in Los Angeles where tech giants Instagram and YouTube will face a jury for the first time over claims that their platforms are deliberately designed to be addictive for children. Lawyers for the plaintiff – a 20 year-old woman – say she developed mental health issues after becoming addicted to the social media at an early age. They argue these companies built “addiction machines” with algorithms that learn what users want and keep feeding it to them. Instagram and YouTube deny the allegations, saying that they have no incentive to turn children into addicts and have introduced various safety measures. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify later this week. We speak to the BBC’s North America Technology Correspondent Lily Jamali, who has been following the case, to ask whether social media is having a generational reckoning – its Big Tobacco moment. Producers: Aron Keller and Xandra Ellin Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Vigil outside the courthouse ahead of a social media addiction trial in Los Angeles. Credit: Reuters/ Jill Connelly.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:06.0 | I had my first cigarette when I was 13. |
| 0:10.4 | This is Debbie Austin, a woman in her mid-40s in an anti-smoking campaign ad, way back in 1996. |
| 0:18.8 | They say nicotine isn't addictive. |
| 0:21.9 | Debbie picks up a lit cigarette and takes a drag on it, not through her lips, but through |
| 0:27.6 | an airhole in her neck. |
| 0:29.4 | How can they say that? |
| 0:31.2 | Two years after this TV ad, 46 US states reached a settlement with tobacco companies for |
| 0:37.0 | $206 billion to treat smokers and |
| 0:41.1 | stop children from smoking. Almost 30 years later, it's still the largest ever settlement in the |
| 0:48.4 | United States. At the time, the New York State Attorney General said, this plan will get big |
| 0:54.0 | tobacco off the back of |
| 0:55.5 | our kids. Fast forward to 2026 and another landmark case is underway in California. |
| 1:04.8 | The tech giants, Meta and YouTube, are facing a jury for the first time as part of a lawsuit alleging that |
| 1:12.4 | social media was deliberately designed to be addictive for children. The companies deny the |
| 1:18.7 | allegations. They say they've got no incentive to turn children into addicts that they've |
| 1:23.1 | rolled out many safety features for kids and Mark Zuckerberg is expected to give evidence later this week. |
| 1:30.2 | But if they lose, the financial consequences could be huge. |
| 1:35.3 | From the BBC, I'm Tristan Redmond in London. |
| 1:38.9 | And today on The Global Story, is social media having its big tobacco moment? |
| 1:49.5 | A quick warning before we dive into the show, this episode contains discussions of bullying, |
| 1:55.3 | child abuse and suicide. My name's Lily Jamali. I'm the BBC's North America |
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