Meta Faces Trial in California Over Claims It Designed Its Platforms to Be Addictive

A trial opened in California over allegations that Meta deliberately designed Facebook and Instagram to be addictive, and the case could compel changes to how both products work, Al Jazeera reported. Unlike a privacy fine, a product-design remedy would reach the recommendation and engagement systems that generate advertising inventory.

In Israel, the Supreme Court ruled that the principle of open justice requires broad access to filings in class action proceedings, rejecting Google's argument that a lawyer seeking to review dozens of earlier cases against it was conducting an unfounded search, Globes reported. The lawyer sought the files while considering whether to bring further claims.

The two rulings turn on the same underlying issue, disclosure. Litigation against platform companies depends on internal documents that show how products were built and what their designers knew. Broader access to court files lowers the cost of preparing the next case, and a trial that puts design decisions before a jury creates a public record that plaintiffs elsewhere can cite.

Meta denies that its products are designed to be addictive. Google has not commented publicly on the Israeli ruling beyond its court filings.