Design Is on Trial (And the Evidence Is Damning)

Design Is on Trial (And the Evidence Is Damning)

From A Digital Strategy Podcast by Tennis

April 30, 2026 · 29 min · Episode 44

About this episode

The episode discusses a landmark legal case against Meta and YouTube regarding the design choices that contribute to addiction in children.

A jury just found Meta and YouTube negligent for deliberately engineering addiction in children. But this case wasn't about content. It was about design. Infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, algorithmic recommendations. All of it framed as intentional product design, not user-generated content. That's what got past Section 230. We break down what the internal documents revealed, why design is now on trial, and what the big tobacco comparison actually means for the industry. In this episode, Symon and Marcello break down the landmark case against Meta and YouTube, where plaintiff Kaye, who started using YouTube at 6, was awarded $6 million in damages after suffering anxiety and depression by age 10. Meta is on the hook for 70%, Google for 30%. And now a chain reaction of lawsuits is waiting in the wings. But the real story here isn't just legal, it's about design ethics, behavioral engineering, and what happens when UX is weaponized against the most vulnerable users.

People in this episode

Hosts: Symon, Marcello

Topics covered

  • design ethics
  • behavioral engineering
  • legal implications
  • user experience
  • addiction in children
  • algorithmic recommendations

Keywords

  • Meta
  • YouTube
  • design
  • addiction
  • lawsuit
  • user experience
  • behavioral engineering
  • ethics
  • infinite scroll
  • push notifications

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Meta, YouTube

More episodes of A Digital Strategy Podcast

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the A Digital Strategy Podcast podcast page.