Ammon News - Meta Platforms and YouTube deliberately designed products they knew would addict children, a lawyer for a woman suing the two companies told jurors in California on Monday at a trial that will test whether Big Tech platforms can be held liable for their app design.

The 20-year-old woman identified as Kaley G.M. in court is suing Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta Platforms band 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."

Meta's attorney Paul Schmidt said in his opening statement that Kaley's health records show a history of verbal and physical abuse and a fraught relationship with her parents, who divorced when she was three years old.

"If you took Instagram away and everything else was the same in Kaley's life, would her life be completely different?" he asked.

YouTube's lawyer is expected to give an opening statement on Tuesday. Both companies have denied the allegations.

Reuters