The growing insurance implications of social media addiction

The insurance sector is entering a new phase of digital risk, where liability extends far beyond data breaches or content and now encompasses platform design, user behaviour, mental health impacts, and broader questions of responsibility

REGULATORS, litigators and policymakers across multiple jurisdictions are intensifying their scrutiny of the harms linked to social media use, particularly for young people. Although the conversation around “addiction” is evolving, one trend is unmistakable: the insurance sector is entering a new phase of digital risk, where liability extends far beyond data breaches or third-party content and now encompasses platform design, user behaviour, mental health impacts, and broader questions of responsibility.