Recent internal documents, revealed through a child safety lawsuit, suggest that Google is strategizing to “onboard kids” into its digital ecosystem by investing in educational institutions. According to a presentation from November 2020, Google believes integrating children into its ecosystem fosters “brand trust and loyalty over their lifetime,” as reported by NBC News.

The documents, which were made public earlier this week, are part of a significant lawsuit involving various school districts, families, and state attorneys general. The lawsuit targets Google, Meta, ByteDance, and Snap, accusing these companies of creating “addictive and dangerous” products negatively impacting young users’ mental health. Notably, Snap reached a settlement earlier this week.

For over a decade, Google has invested in educational products, with Chromebooks becoming a fixture in classrooms. The 2020 presentation also examines how the brands of laptops used in schools can influence students’ future purchasing decisions.

One slide in the presentation references a 2017 The New York Times article, highlighting a quote that describes Google as competing to “hook students as future customers.” The document frequently reiterates, “If you get someone on your operating system early, then you get that loyalty early, and potentially for life.” It also suggests that integrating YouTube into educational settings could nurture a “pipeline of future users” and content creators.

However, the presentation also addresses the challenges of incorporating YouTube in schools, noting that the platform is “often blocked” and that efforts to make it school-safe have yet to succeed. The documents recognize YouTube’s potential impact on mental health, citing a 2024 presentation where it mentions users often “regret time lost when they unintentionally ‘go down the rabbit hole,’” and how it can “‘distract’ them from work or even delay bedtime.”

Google spokesperson Jack Malon, in an emailed statement to The Verge, claims that the documents “mischaracterize” Google’s initiatives. “YouTube does not market directly to schools, and we have acted to fulfill the strong demand from educators for high-quality, curriculum-aligned content,” Malon stated. “Administrators have full control over the platform’s usage, and YouTube requires schools to obtain parental consent before allowing students under 18 to access the platform.”

Jury selection for the social media addiction trial will start on January 27th, 2026.