The Digital Complication
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The Addiction Factory

Interactive exhibit — Social media by design

In March 2026, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube liable for intentionally building addictive platforms that harmed a young woman's mental health. She started using Instagram aged nine. The head of Instagram called 16 hours of daily use "problematic", not addiction.

Five months later, Meta settled with 48 US states for up to $18 billion. The settlement terms included two-hour daily limits for teens and nighttime blocks. Features they could have shipped at any time. They didn't. Until it cost them $18 billion.

Below are four interactive pieces. Each one lets you do what they did. Build the machine. Watch the metrics climb. Notice what's big and what's small. Notice what they wanted you to see, and what they didn't.

Based on proceedings: P.F. et al. v. Meta Platforms et al., Los Angeles Superior Court, March 2026. Settlement: 48 US States v. Meta Platforms, August 2026. State of New Mexico v. Meta Platforms, October 2026.
Exhibit 01
The Engagement Machine
You are the product designer. Optimise for growth.
Infinite ScrollOff
Autoplay Next VideoOff
Notification FrequencyOff
Like Counter VisibilityHidden
Beauty Filter IntensityNone
Algorithmic AmplificationOff
Quarterly Revenue
$0m
Projected annual: $0m
User harm index
0
children affected (est.)
Move the sliders. Build your platform.
Exhibit 02
16 Hours
Kaley's longest single day on Instagram. Adam Mosseri called it "problematic".
Time spent: 0:00
Actual time: 0:00
The timer told you 0:00.
You were here for 0:00.

The platform lied. That was the design.
Kaley spent 16 hours in one day. She was a teenager.
Instagram's head called it "problematic". Not addiction. Problematic.
Exhibit 03
The Mirror
Kaley was diagnosed with body dysmorphia. She started using filters aged nine.
Filter Intensity
Likes 0
Preference Score 0%
Comments 0
omg goals
wish I looked like this
what filter is this??
literally perfect
body goals fr fr
this isn't even real is it
Zero likes. Zero comments. Zero preference score.
The real you gets no engagement. That was the point.
Kaley was ten when she started obsessing about her appearance.
Exhibit 04
Design an Addiction
Product strategy meeting. Q4 growth targets. Select your features.
Remove age verification barriers
Enable infinite scroll with no natural stopping point
Autoplay next video immediately
Hide or obscure screen time tracking
Amplify outrage and emotional content in the algorithm
Recommend progressively more extreme content
Make the close button progressively smaller
Push notifications for activity on others' posts, not yours
Deploy beauty filters that alter facial structure
Show like counts publicly to drive social comparison
Projected Daily Child Engagement
0.0hrs
Per user, ages 9-17
Investor Confidence 0%
$6,000,000
A Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube liable for intentionally building addictive platforms that harmed a young woman's mental health.

Meta was found 70% responsible. YouTube 30%. The jury awarded $6 million. Commentators called it the "end of impunity" for addictive design.

Meanwhile, users report growing burnout and disenchantment. They know the platforms are harming them. They keep scrolling anyway. That is the design working exactly as intended.

And now the feeds are filling with content that was never written by a human. AI-generated posts, AI-generated replies, AI-generated outrage. They call it the dead internet. The engagement metrics still climb. The platforms don't care who typed it, as long as you stay.

Every feature you just selected? They built it. They shipped it. They knew what it would do to children. Internal research told them. They optimised anyway.
P.F. et al. v. Meta Platforms et al. — Verdict: March 2026
$18,000,000,000
Five months later, 48 US states settled with Meta for up to $18 billion. The largest technology settlement in history.

The terms required two-hour daily limits for teens. Nighttime blocks between midnight and 6am. No notifications during school hours. Features that could have been built into the product at any time. Features you just ticked on a checklist in a web browser.

They knew how to stop it. They always knew. It took a jury verdict and 48 attorneys general to make them do it.

Meta still gets to keep personalised recommendations and targeted advertising. The core engine stays. They are paying $18 billion for the right to keep the machine running.
48 US States v. Meta Platforms — Settlement: 26 August 2026
$25,000,000,000
On 25 September 2026, a New Mexico jury found Meta had violated the state's consumer protection laws almost 44 million times. On 21 October, a judge set the penalty: $25 billion. What the state's Attorney General called the largest single-state judgment against Meta in history. Meta says it will appeal.

Meta and YouTube are also appealing the original $6 million verdict. A California judge denied a new trial in June 2026. Both are appealing regardless.

Individual claims are still being settled. More bellwether trials are scheduled. Meanwhile, Ireland's media regulator launched investigations into whether Meta uses dark patterns to steer users away from non-algorithmic feeds, under the EU Digital Services Act. Potential fine: up to 6% of global turnover.

In September 2026, the European Commission proposed the EU KIDS Act: platforms must prove they are safe for children before children can access them.

The machine is still running. The bills are getting bigger. The people who built it are still in their jobs.
State of New Mexico v. Meta Platforms — Jury: 25 September 2026, Penalty: 21 October 2026  |  EU KIDS Act proposed: 17 September 2026
Sources: P.F. et al. v. Meta (LexCalifornia). 48 States settlement (Fortune). New Mexico v. Meta (ABC/AP); NM Political Report. Ireland investigation (CnaM). EU KIDS Act (EC).
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Don't Go!
You tried to leave. They wouldn't let you.
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The Silencing
They silenced the lawyers. The states came anyway. $18 billion.
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