Trial begins over claims Meta and YouTube intentionally designing products to addict children

A lawyer for a woman suing the two companies told jurors at a trial in California that Meta Platforms and YouTube are deliberately designing products they knew would addict children. The trial ‌will test whether Big Tech platforms can be held liable for their app design. Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to be called as a witness at the trial, which is likely to stretch into March. TikTok and Snap settled with the petitioner before the trial.

Lawyers for Meta and YouTube were expected to give opening statements on Monday afternoon. Both companies have denied the allegations.

The 20-year-old woman identified as Kaley G.M. in court is suing Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta Platforms and Alphabet’s Google, which owns YouTube.

Kaley was hooked on social media at a young age because of the apps’ addictive design, her lawyer Mark Lanier told jurors. Lanier said that internal company documents show that, “these companies built machines designed to addict the brains of children, and they did it on purpose.”

A ruling against the technology companies could pave the way for similar lawsuits in state courts and weaken the industry’s long-standing U.S. legal protections against claims of user harm. Google, Meta, TikTok, and Snap are currently facing thousands of cases in California.