[00:00] Talia Brooks: From Neural Newscast, I'm Tilia Brooks.
[00:03] Thatcher Collins: And I'm Thatcher Collins.
[00:05] Talia Brooks: Today, Mark Zuckerberg takes the stand in a trial over social media addiction.
[00:11] Talia Brooks: We explore the legal argument that Instagram and YouTube are defective products.
[00:17] Thatcher Collins: We also head to the Horn of Africa, where Turkey is mediating a volatile maritime dispute
[00:24] Thatcher Collins: plus a historic settlement for students and the race for the ECB.
[00:30] Talia Brooks: Mark Zuckerberg is testifying today in a Los Angeles courtroom.
[00:34] Talia Brooks: This landmark trial is the first of its kind to question if social media giants
[00:39] Talia Brooks: are legally responsible for a mental health crisis among teenagers.
[00:44] Thatcher Collins: Attorneys for the plaintiffs are using internal company documents to show that features like
[00:50] Thatcher Collins: Infinite Scroll were designed specifically to be addictive.
[00:54] Thatcher Collins: They are calling these platforms digital casinos engineered for young brains.
[01:00] Talia Brooks: The case focuses on a young woman from California known as Kaylee.
[01:04] Talia Brooks: She claims her compulsive use of YouTube and Instagram since the age of six led to severe
[01:11] Talia Brooks: depression.
[01:12] Thatcher Collins: MEDA and Google argue that social media is a scapegoat for complex emotional issues.
[01:18] Thatcher Collins: However, the outcome of this test case will influence 1,600 other pending lawsuits.
[01:25] Talia Brooks: Turning now to the Horn of Africa, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
[01:31] Talia Brooks: has rejected Israel's recognition of Somaliland.
[01:35] Talia Brooks: Erdogan warned that such moves could turn the region into a battlefield for foreign forces.
[01:41] Thatcher Collins: During a visit to Ethiopia, Erdogan emphasized that local nations should resolve their own problems.
[01:49] Thatcher Collins: This comes as Ethiopia continues to seek its own sovereign access to the Red Sea.
[01:55] Talia Brooks: Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has asked Turkey for diplomatic pressure to secure a port.
[02:02] Talia Brooks: He described his country of 130 million people as a geographical prisoner.
[02:08] Thatcher Collins: Tensions remain high near the Tigray region as military build-ups continue.
[02:14] Thatcher Collins: A return to conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea could have devastating consequences for the entire continent.
[02:22] Talia Brooks: In other news, University College London has agreed to a £21 million settlement for its students.
[02:30] Talia Brooks: This payout addresses the significant disruptions to learning caused by the pandemic.
[02:36] Thatcher Collins: Still, the focus is also on the future of European finance.
[02:41] Thatcher Collins: Spain has become the first country to enter the race to succeed Christine Lagarde at the European Central Bank.
[02:48] Talia Brooks: I'm Talia Brooks.
[02:49] Thatcher Collins: And I'm Thatcher Collins.
[02:51] Talia Brooks: Neural Newscast is AI-assisted, human-reviewed.
[02:55] Talia Brooks: View our AI transparency policy at neuralnewscast.com.