The world's largest social media companies have been accused of creating "addiction machines" as a landmark trial began in California examining the mental health effects of Instagram and YouTube.
In his opening argument before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl and a jury, Mark Lanier argued that his client, plaintiff "K.G.M.," suffered from mental health issues as a result of her social media addiction.
"These companies built machines designed to addict the brains of children, and they did it on purpose," Lanier said.
This afternoon, lawyers for Meta and YouTube are expected to argue that K.G.M.'s addiction stemmed from other issues in her life, not their negligence.
K.G.M. will be referred to by her initials, or as Kaley G.M., because the alleged harms took place when she was a minor.
