Meta 'hid the truth' over child safety, US court hears

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0:53This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Janat Jalil, and in the early hours of Wednesday, the 19th of August, these are our main stories. At the start of a landmark trial in California, Meta denies deliberately designing platforms like Facebook and Instagram to be addictive to children. The Trump administration intensifies pressure on the International Criminal Court by imposing more sanctions on top officials. With the Ebola outbreak in Congo now one of the deadliest ever, the World Health Organization says it's still far from being under control. Also in this podcast, an Australian woman who killed three relatives by feeding them a meal laced with poisonous mushrooms begins an appeal against her murder conviction.

1:45And? In the mouse, we actually showed that the crucial wavelength of light for preventing myopia was actually in the UVA, ultraviolet A band. But in the tree shrew, we showed it went the other direction. We hear how tree shrews could be a big help to short-sighted humans.

2:05We begin with a trial that could transform some of the most popular social media apps on the planet. A group of 29 US states is suing the tech giant Meta, seeking potentially hundreds of billions of dollars in penalties. The four lead states in the trial, California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey, accused the company of harming children by designing Facebook and Instagram to be as addictive as cigarettes. The states argue Meta has fueled a national youth mental health crisis, causing depression, anxiety and even suicide, and that it's deceived users by promoting its apps as safe. California's Attorney General is Rob Bonta.

2:54We want them to stop harming our kids knowingly. They designed a dangerous product. It was something they knew was dangerous and they lied to the public about it. So we want them to end those practices, stop visiting harm upon our kids. The features that they have, including infinite scroll and autoplay and beeps and alerts and likes and ephemeral content, hurt kids. Parents who said that social media platforms played a role in their children's deaths gathered outside a federal courthouse in Oakland in California, holding a banner with the names of their sons and daughters. Emmy didn't want to die.

3:30She loved her family. She loved her pets. She loved her frogs, her geckos, and our time at the lake house. She loved her life. What she could not survive was the hopelessness and the helplessness that was created and amplified by the design choices that Meta put in front of her. This wasn't an accident. My son did not take his life. My son was killed. It's a design choice, a company that builds its platforms to maximize a child's engagement, click after click, at the cost of the child's safety. But Meta completely denies the allegations, arguing they're unsupported by any evidence. Our North America technology correspondent, Lily Jamali, was in court as the trial began.

4:17We heard opening statements from both sides. An attorney for the state of California opened saying that Meta hid the truth about how addictive its platforms are. And she tried to show that by drawing contrast between what Meta executives have said about how safe Instagram and Facebook are in public and what internal documents show about what they knew about the actual user experience. Surveys showing, for example, a quarter of users as young as 13 experiencing bullying, seeing nudity and violence. Meta by contrast that it's been very transparent that they've used their own research to make changes, built tools aimed at helping with things like time management on the platform.

4:56You could also see Meta's lawyer trying to sort of preemptively soften the impact of language in emails among Metta employees that jurors are going to see later in the trial. And what would it mean if Metta were to lose this trial? It would mean that they could face significant financial penalties. The Attorney General of California made clear at a news conference today that they will be asking for exactly that significant payment. But the AGs or the Attorneys General, I should say, are not being terribly forthright about what that number will be. I think they think it's a little early to get into numbers.

5:36Bigger picture, what they want, and they've been very clear about this, is that they want to see major changes to Meta's business model, an end or a curtailing of what states say are these addictive features that are all about addicting young users in their telling of things, whether that's infinite scroll or push notifications. And are we like you to hear from Meta's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg? I pressed Attorney General Rob Bonta on that very question today. He wouldn't say. He said the answer to that is unknown, that he doesn't have a personal preference. Meta lawyers indicated during opening statements today that Mark Zuckerberg would testify.

6:14He is a well-known figure. If he takes the stand, I think we get into issues of how he strikes jurors in terms of credibility and likability. But jurors have been asked to leave any preconceived opinions at the door. And Lily, just tell us what we're expecting to unfold over the coming weeks with this trial. We're expecting six weeks at least of testimony. We're going to hear from some company executives. We're almost certain of that. We've already started hearing from a meta whistleblower, somebody who was at the company, left and came back because of what he was witnessing with Instagram in his own kids' lives and said that he flagged a number of concerns to no avail.

6:56And we're talking about very high level executives in the company were made aware, according to him. The jury in this case is going to try and render a verdict, but that verdict will be just advisory. Ultimately, the final outcome rests with the judge in this case. Lily Jamali. The United States has imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court's president and a senior trial lawyer at the ICC who's part of a prosecution team that has sought an arrest warrant for Israel's prime minister. The new sanctions were unveiled by the Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who says the court is a threat to America's national sovereignty.

7:35The US is not a member of the court. Mr Rubio published a statement on X, which has been voiced by one of our producers. The Trump administration is sanctioning ICC President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdullah Issei in our unwavering mission to protect Americans from this sham of a court. In honor of our Declaration of Independence, Americans will never be transported beyond seas to be tried for pretend offenses. The ICC was set up more than 20 years ago to investigate war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. Our State Department correspondent Tom Bateman told us what the US was hoping to achieve by imposing sanctions on it.

8:20This move is the latest escalation by the Trump administration to, in the words of Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, dismantle the International Criminal Court. He says brick by brick. We've already seen in this term the Trump administration dish out sanctions on at least 11 officials at the International Criminal Court. They include judges and prosecutors. And now you have these two top officials, the president and the senior trial lawyer at the court. That has come alongside a political campaign, a diplomatic campaign by the US State Department under Mr Rubio to try to pressure countries that belong to the court.

8:58There's more than 120 of those to withdraw from it. And I think, you know, what you see there There is an attempt by the Trump administration to pull the rug out from this system of international law, of big multilateral international institutions, to try to replace it with a system really where big powerful countries become the kind of big beasts of the international order and call the shots. What has particularly irked to the Trump administration is twofold. Some of it dates back to Mr Trump's first term, when he equally had disdain for the International Criminal Court. There was an investigation by the ICC into US personnel in Afghanistan, which the administrations, both Democrat and Republican, actually adamantly opposed and rejected.

9:41But then it was the issuing of arrest warrants by the ICC against senior Israeli officials, including the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for alleged war crimes in Gaza that the Americans have fiercely opposed and rejected. And that is why they're continuing this escalating campaign against the court. Now, fairly unusually, there has been quite a strongly worded response from the court itself about all this, saying these kind of sanctions by states have the effect of undermining the international rule of law. Tom Bateman, the head of the World Health Organization, has warned that the Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the largest ever reported in the country, is still far from being under control.

10:27Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the organisation's emergency committee that the disease is spreading at an unprecedented rate and remains an international threat. Over 5 ,000 people have been infected and more than 2 ,300 have died since the outbreak was declared. Heather Kerr, who leads the International Rescue Committee in the DRC, says there are several reasons why the disease is continuing to spread. It's heading to be probably the biggest Ebola outbreak ever, and it's already outstripped the 2018-2020 outbreak here in DRC. And part of the problem is that whilst it was declared on the 15th of May, Research now and various investigations seem to say that the outbreak started way back in February.

11:20So we've been behind the curve all the time and we're playing catch up. The main issue here is really the work in the community and getting the trust of the community. And until we really get this, it's going to be difficult to slow down the outbreak. Well, earlier this month, the World Health Organization said that reversing Ebola spread would be possible within a three-month period. Anka Desai asked our Africa correspondent, Thomas Mugwana, whether this was still the case. If the Director General's speech to the committee is anything to go by, this is not looking good at all. They're saying that it's not close to being under control.

12:02This is mostly because of resources. the outbreak is happening in a country that is struggling with a role of insecurity and on top of that terrible transport systems and a health system that is still struggling and they're also dealing with multiple outbreaks including measles and cholera so there's a bunch of things that you're dealing with at the same time. Have they been able to contain it in the DRC or has it spread to any of the other neighboring countries? It did spread to Uganda earlier on and there were around 20 cases but Uganda declared itself Ebola free around three weeks ago and they haven't recorded a single case since and uganda was the only country within this region to have recorded an ebola case outside of dr congo but then that's not to say that no other country has recorded a case case was recorded in france and cases of americans who were working in drc but went back home also recorded but so far no other case has been detected outside the epicenter thomas containing the virus is obviously a challenge and developing vaccines as well for the disease is obviously difficult.

13:03What's the latest on that? And are the DRC able to get any aid and help? Yes, the US just announced that it's sending hundreds of millions in donations to the Democratic Republic of Congo to help in the Ebola response. So that's something good. And countries in the EU have also sent money to beef up the response. Two vaccines have entered human trials. That brings the number of total vaccines that will be in circulation to fight against the Ebola outbreak to around three, because apart from those two that have entered human trials, one specific vaccine that was specifically designed against the Zaire strain, you'll remember that the current outbreak is not caused by the most prevalent strain.

13:44It's caused by a rare one called Bundibujo. So the original vaccine was against the Zaire strain and 2000 doses of those have been sent to regions, India, Congo, because they've shown some success against this strain. And this means that vaccines could be within the Democratic Republic of Congo soon. But you remember the WHO said it would take around three months and that's exactly what we are seeing here. Thomas McWanna. Could tree shrews, tiny mammals that are native to South and Southeast Asia, help us find a way to correct short-sightedness or myopia in humans? Well, newly published research suggests that maybe they can.

14:25The study by scientists in the US found that a colour-based therapy could help correct myopia. Professor Richard Lang co-wrote the paper which has just been published. Tim Franks asked him why they'd picked tree shrews for their study. Because tree shrews are a really good model for the human visual system, a lot of the work that I do is focused on mice, but the visual system is sufficiently different that it doesn't always work very well as a model for the human eye. So my colleague at University of Alabama, Birmingham, Raphael Gritz, has a colony of tree shrews. And a long time back, we got talking about using those animals for the study that's currently being published.

15:07So their eyes are more similar to humans. I'm intrigued. How do you actually make a tree shrew short-sighted? It sounds like the start of a joke, but tell me. It does. So you give them spectacles, one lens of which for one eye projects the images that are coming into their eye behind the retina. And so the eye is able to respond by growing too long. It's that long axis that is the fundamental problem with myopia. So you basically use instruments that are very similar to those that are used in humans for testing the refractive power of the tree-shoe eye. This is actually one of Raffi Gritz's expertises.

15:47So it's been known for a long, long time in model animals that light determines whether the eye reaches this perfect focus condition. So as the eye is growing, it goes through this complex growth regulation process that ensures that images are focused exactly on the retina. And it's that process that goes awry when you get myopia. Now, what the epidemiology world has shown us recently is that that's probably also true in humans. So if someone spends a lot of time outside, they are protected against getting myopia. If they spend a lot of time inside, they'll have a higher risk of getting myopia.

16:25And so it's consistent with this idea that light regulates the way the eye develops. And am I right in saying that one of your discoveries is that the light that regulates how micey, that's very different to the tree shrew. Yeah, there's this fundamental difference in what we discovered in mouse experiments and in the tree shrew experiments. In the mouse, we actually showed that the crucial wavelength of light as a supplementation for preventing myopia was actually in the UVA, ultraviolet A band. But in the tree shrew, we showed it went the other direction, but the important supplemental light was in the indigo, which is a very deep blue color.

17:05That distinction is important. So if we were willing to live outside again, no one would have myopia, most likely. But the way to get around this, since we all want to live inside, is to provide a form of lighting with this supplemental wavelength. These technologies will be developed over the next few years. And I think before too long, we'll see light emitting devices, including lighting, that have been carefully tested and we no will function in preventing myopia. Professor Richard Lang of Cincinnati Children's Hospital in Ohio in the US. Still to come in this podcast. A girl given the name of the ancient goddess of hunting was in the end the most hunted person of the modern age.

17:51Almost 30 years after that eulogy at her funeral, Princess Diana's brother is to publish a book about her.

18:29We'll see you next time. No matter your goals or appetite for investing, Schwab has everything you need all in one place. Visit schwab.com to learn more. Is the West Bank reaching a tipping point? I'm Asma Khaled, and I host the Global Story podcast from the BBC. For more than a week, homes in the village of Qusra have been under siege, including one of a Palestinian-American man from Ohio. It's just the latest to draw attention to the rise of settler violence in the West Bank, which the UN says is higher than at any point in the last 20 years. For more, listen to The Global Story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

19:10This is the Global News Podcast. The mushroom murders case is back in the headlines. A year after an Australian woman was found guilty of killing three people and trying to kill a fourth by serving a beef wellington laced with deadly mushrooms, she's returned to court to appeal against her conviction. Erin Patterson was jailed for life with no possibility of parole for at least 33 years. Her lawyers claim she didn't receive a fair trial, but prosecutors are also appealing saying her sentence is too lenient. Our Sydney correspondent Katie Watson has followed this story from the beginning. It was back in July 2023 when Erin Patterson served up a lunch of beef Wellington to her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, her husband, Ian.

20:02Now, in that beef, Wellington, there were death cap mushrooms, and within days of that lunch, three of the four guests had died. Ian Wilkinson was the only survivor, and he spent a considerable amount of time in a hospital before eventually recovering. Now, in court today, it's a double appeal, actually. Iron Patterson is appealing her conviction, but the prosecution is appealing her sentence. They say that it is manifestly inadequate. She should never be released from jail. But today and for a bit of tomorrow, Erin Patterson's team is going through the reasons they think her conviction should be overturned.

20:40She's actually not in court. She's appearing via video link from prison, although Ian Wilkinson, the only survivor, is watching all of this play out. And Katie, just take us through the reasons that she's launched this appeal. Yes, as I said, there are seven grounds of appeal. Now, some of that relates to evidence, some relates to the actions of prosecution. But the first ground that they covered this morning was on the issue of the jury. Erin Patterson argues that the integrity of their verdict was compromised because, you probably remember, it was a massive story. It was a huge amount of interest throughout the trial.

21:21There was a lot of concern over the jury making sure that their views weren't contaminated by speaking to friends or family or even the media. So when they started deliberating, they were deliberating in court during the day, and then they'd have to go to a local hotel for the nights until they actually came to a decision. Now, it happened to be that in the same hotel, there were members of the prosecution, a key witness, as well as some members of the media. So her team are arguing that that has fatally undermined the integrity of the verdict and that it should be declared a mistrial. They're also looking at evidence.

21:52So, for example, evidence that she foraged mushrooms in some woodlands. They say that kind of the evidence that pinned to that, which was cell phone evidence, as well as some sightings of death caps on some citizen science website. Well, there was no proof that she had visited that and it was effectively turning kind of nothing into something. There have been three different grounds so far that they have gone over and that will continue after lunch and into tomorrow before hearing the prosecution's argument. And as you say, the prosecution are also appealing to they want more severe sentence. Yeah, so they say that she shouldn't be considered for parole at all.

22:29Now, it's worth saying that there won't be an immediate decision on either appeal. There are three appeal court judges, and there has to be a consensus or a majority vote. But a decision is not expected for several months. Now, if she's successful, then her conviction sentence that could be overturned, there could be a retrial, she could apply for bail. but equally, statistically, appeals are more likely to fail than succeed. Katie Watson. Women involved in an alleged drugging case in France have told the BBC that delays to justice have left them feeling victimised a second time. Christian Negre, a former senior civil servant, is accused of drugging 248 women during job interviews at the Ministry of Culture.

23:14Nuala McGovern reports. She said, did you know Mr Negra was conducting an experiment on you? This is what a detective asked Marie-Hélène two years after a job interview with a French government official that took a humiliating turn. I've come down to the canal with Marie-Hélène. The canal is wide and green and the leaves of a horse chestnut tree draped down into the water, providing some much needed shade on this very hot day. This beautiful setting, however, is in stark contrast to the dreadful experience that Marie-Hélène went through just close to here. It was an interview that started quite normally.

23:53He suggested that we continue the interview outside while walking. Quite quickly during this walk, I felt an urge to urinate. Police say Christiane Negre spiked her coffee with powerful diuretics, triggering an urgent need to urinate, then led her away from toilets. The urge started to become unbearable, to the point that I had tears streaming down my cheeks from pain. I couldn't hold back and I urinated on myself with a terrible feeling of humiliation. For years, she blamed herself until a detective revealed she was one of nearly 250 women police say Negre targeted. They found an Excel table on his computer which was called Experiments P in which he noted the time the medication was administered, description of the urine stream, description of underwear.

24:43And then she pulled out a binder and I see photos of women's legs taken under the table. And then she says to me, do you recognise yourself? I was in shock. Negre was placed under investigation for charges including drugging and sexual assault. He declined the BBC's request for comment. While the allegations against Christiane Negre remain untested in court, it is one of several high-profile cases about alleged drugging that have sparked a national debate in France. A new scheme being piloted gives women direct access to toxicology testing if they fear they've been drugged. I've come to Garche Hospital campus in a leafy suburb of Paris to meet with Professor Jean-Claude Alvarez.

25:27Professor Alvarez is a toxicology expert and I've come to his lab to find out just how effective tests are to prove diuretic drugging. Here we are in our lab. We identify more than 400 molecules in blood, urine, viscera and hair, of course. In just six months, 200 women have sought direct testing at this Paris lab. Each envelope is one hair case. This is an example of hair, of a strand of hair that we can receive. We receive a lot, many strains every day in order to make a test. This is the results with the two peaks here. It's a positive sample. Results from this lab can be vital evidence in court.

26:19But with new drugs circulating online, Professor Alvarez is having to cast the net ever wider to identify them. Meanwhile, the wheels of justice are turning slowly. Seven years after the investigation into Christiane Nogre began, no trial date has been set. The BBC asked the French police, judiciary and government about the criticism of their handling of the case, but they did not respond. A decade on, Marie-Hélène says she still suffers from nightmares and urinary problems. By speaking out, she hopes to cast off the years of shame that she felt over what happened that day. I actually need people to know what happened to me and what happened to us.

27:01It's a small way to tell myself not to be ashamed or to hide.