29.01.2026 • 21 Min.

For years, social media companies have relied on an impenetrable first amendment protection to shield them from legal claims that their products are dangerous to children. But now, a cluster of plaintiffs are trying a different tact. Cecilia Kang, who covers technology, explains why these new lawsuits pose an existential threat to social media giants, and how those companies are likely to defend themselves. Guest: Cecilia Kang, a reporter covering technology and regulatory policy for The New York Times. Background reading: Here’s what to know about the social media addiction trials.TikTok reached an agreement to settle a lawsuit, avoiding the first in a series of landmark trials.Photo: David Gray/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.