A California jury weighing claims that major social media platforms harm young users heard striking testimony this week: internal data indicates the teenage plaintiff in the case was shown more than 17,000 advertisements on YouTube in a single year.
The testimony came during a high-profile bellwether trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court, one of the first cases selected from thousands consolidated against companies including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat. The lawsuits allege that certain platform features were intentionally designed to encourage compulsive use among minors.
YouTube Executive Testifies
Cristos Goodrow, a YouTube vice president involved in shaping the platform’s recommendation systems, returned to the witness stand for a second day. Attorneys questioned him extensively about usage data and design features such as autoplay and short-form video feeds.
During cross-examination, plaintiff’s attorney Mark Lanier presented what he described as a company-produced document showing the young plaintiff — identified in court as Kaley G.M. — was served 17,122 ads over a 12-month period.
Goodrow acknowledged that the document appeared to reflect that number. That total would average out to more than 1,000 ads per month.
Lanier suggested the figure implied extensive time spent on the platform. Defense counsel, however, emphasized that the ads were not limited to the short-form “Shorts” feature and could have been delivered across the broader YouTube ecosystem.
