By Jodi Godoy
Jury to hear as landmark trial of Meta, the app YouTube designed to hook kids, beginsLOS ANGELES, — Meta platform and YouTube deliberately designed products they knew would addict children, a lawyer for a woman suing the two companies told jurors Monday in a trial in California that will test whether the big tech platforms can be held liable for their app designs.
The 20-year-old woman, identified in court as Calle GM, is suing Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms and Alphabet’s Google, which owns YouTube.
Callie was hooked on social media at a young age because of the app’s addictive design, her lawyer, Mark Lanier, told jurors. Lanier said that internal company documents show that “these companies created machines designed to manipulate the brains of children, and they did it on purpose.”
Lawyers for Meta and YouTube were expected to make opening statements Monday afternoon. Both companies have denied the allegations.
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A ruling against the tech companies could smooth the way for similar lawsuits in state courts and shake up the industry’s longstanding U.S. legal defense against user damage claims. Google, Meta, TikTok and Snap are facing thousands of lawsuits in California.
Meta platform CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to be called as a witness in the trial, which could extend into March. TikTok and Snap settled with Cali ahead of trial.
Calley is also expected to testify. He has alleged that the apps fueled his depression and suicidal thoughts and is seeking to hold the companies accountable.
His lawyers took aim at the fact that the companies were negligent in the design of their apps, that they failed to warn the public about the risks and that the platforms were a significant factor in his injuries. If they are successful, the jury will consider whether to award him compensation for pain and suffering and may also impose punitive damages.
Meta and Google plan to defend themselves against the claims by pointing to other factors in Kaley’s life, highlighting their work on youth safety and trying to distance themselves from users who upload harmful content.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl, who is overseeing the trial, instructed jurors that companies cannot be held liable for recommending content created by others, only for their own design and operation of platforms.
Under US law, Internet companies are largely immune from liability for content posted by their users. If the jury in this case rejects that defense, it could pave the way for other lawsuits that claim the platforms are harmful by design.
Social media faces legal backlash
In addition to cases like Cali’s in state court, the companies face more than 2,300 similar lawsuits filed by parents, school districts and state attorneys general in federal court. The judge overseeing them is weighing the companies’ liability defenses ahead of the first trial on the claims in federal court, which could happen as early as June.
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Also Monday, a jury in Santa Fe, New Mexico, was hearing opening statements in a state lawsuit alleging Meta sexually exploited children and teenagers and harmed their mental health while profiting from its platforms.
“It’s true that all companies in the United States have a goal of making money,” Donald Migliori, an attorney with the New Mexico attorney general, told the jury. But, he added, “Meta made its profits while publicly misrepresenting that its platforms were safe for youth, downplaying or outright lying about what it knew about the dangers of its platforms.”
Attorneys for Mater, which has denied the allegations and accused New Mexico of conducting an unethical investigation, are expected to make their opening statements later Monday.
The wave of lawsuits in the US is part of a global backlash against social media platforms over children’s mental health. Australia and Spain have banned access to social media platforms for users under 16, and other countries are considering similar bans.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without text modification
