[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-youtube-says-it-is-not-social-media-to-dodge-addiction-ruling":10,"sections":35},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":24,"tags":25,"sources":30,"feedback":34,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":34,"total_tokens":34},4741,"youtube-says-it-is-not-social-media-to-dodge-addiction-ruling","YouTube Says It Is Not Social Media to Dodge Addiction Ruling","Google's video platform is appealing an addiction verdict by arguing it belongs in a different category than Meta and other social networks.","YouTube is contesting a landmark addiction ruling, and its defense hinges on a technicality: it claims it is not a social media platform.\n\nGoogle's video service has filed an appeal against a court verdict that found it helped hook a child on its app. The appeal follows a similar move by Meta. YouTube's core argument is categorical — it is a video platform, not a social network, and therefore should not be subject to the same findings that ensnared the likes of Facebook and Instagram.\n\nThe distinction matters because the entire liability framework in these addiction cases rests on how courts define \"social media.\" If YouTube can carve out a separate classification, it may escape the legal precedent being built around platforms accused of deliberately engineering compulsive use in minors. That is a high-stakes semantic fight with real consequences for how tech companies are regulated going forward.\n\nIt is worth noting that YouTube features comments, likes, subscriptions, community posts, and algorithmic feeds optimized for engagement — the same mechanics courts have scrutinized in social media addiction cases. Calling it purely a video service is a legal strategy, not a description most users would recognize.","[\"youtube\",\"social media\",\"regulation\",\"big tech\"]","2026-07-15T21:20:51.000Z","2026-07-15T22:59:44.477Z","2026-07-15T22:59:47.432Z","published",null,[],"policy",[26,27,28,29],"youtube","social media","regulation","big tech",[31],{"name":32,"url":33},"The Next Web","https:\u002F\u002Fthenextweb.com\u002Fnews\u002Fyoutube-appeals-social-media-addiction-verdict",0,{"sections":36},[37,42,47,52,56,61,66,71,76,81,86,90,95,100],{"name":38,"slug":39,"count":40,"latest_published_at":41},"AI","ai",2583,"2026-07-15T21:33:20.000Z",{"name":43,"slug":44,"count":45,"latest_published_at":46},"Security","security",294,"2026-07-15T19:59:48.000Z",{"name":48,"slug":49,"count":50,"latest_published_at":51},"Deals","deals",179,"2026-06-29T20:02:07.000Z",{"name":53,"slug":24,"count":54,"latest_published_at":55},"Policy",158,"2026-07-16T00:02:48.000Z",{"name":57,"slug":58,"count":59,"latest_published_at":60},"Hardware","hardware",122,"2026-07-14T19:46:26.000Z",{"name":62,"slug":63,"count":64,"latest_published_at":65},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",93,"2026-07-13T13:20:48.000Z",{"name":67,"slug":68,"count":69,"latest_published_at":70},"Software","software",70,"2026-07-13T19:52:25.000Z",{"name":72,"slug":73,"count":74,"latest_published_at":75},"Science","science",66,"2026-07-10T10:29:37.000Z",{"name":77,"slug":78,"count":79,"latest_published_at":80},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",59,"2026-07-07T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":82,"slug":83,"count":84,"latest_published_at":85},"Gaming","gaming",41,"2026-07-09T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":87,"slug":88,"count":84,"latest_published_at":89},"Startups","startups","2026-06-29T20:55:50.000Z",{"name":91,"slug":92,"count":93,"latest_published_at":94},"General","general",29,"2026-07-10T22:28:58.000Z",{"name":96,"slug":97,"count":98,"latest_published_at":99},"Reviews","reviews",20,"2026-06-24T12:00:01.000Z",{"name":101,"slug":102,"count":103,"latest_published_at":104},"How-To","how-to",6,"2026-06-16T09:00:00.000Z"]