A landmark trial has begun in California as a 20-year-old woman is suing Meta and Google (owners of Facebook, Instagram and YouTube) for allegedly deliberately designing their applications to be addictive to children. Lawyers claim that internal documents from the big tech companies show that platforms are being “built to addict the brains of children on purpose,” and that early exposure to these features has contributed to serious mental illness in children. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify as part of the trial, with company attorneys saying that mental health struggles suggested by the complainant may stem from family difficulties and personal history rather than social media applications.