Prince Harry and Meghan Markle put pressure on social media firms as couple call LA tech trial a 'turning point'

The couple's Archewell Foundation previously launched its Parents' Network initiative to support adults whose children have been affected online.

Closing arguments are currently being presented at the Spring Street Courthouse in Los Angeles, following around a month of testimonies from therapists, addiction specialists, platform engineers, and executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, during the trial.

The plaintiff is a 20-year-old woman, and the two defendants are Meta and Google-owned YouTube.

Social media platforms Snapchat and TikTok were also named as defendants in the lawsuit, but each settled before the trial began.

A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said: "We don't yet know how the LA tech accountability trial will end.

"No matter the outcome, parents, advocates, and experts pushing for safer technology have already achieved something significant: the world is finally paying attention. Archewell Philanthropies is proud to have stood with and supported their stories."

The spokesman continued: "Today, the largest technology companies find themselves under unprecedented scrutiny. Their products, their design choices, and their impact on young people are being examined not just in public debate, but now in a court of law.

"And regardless of any single verdict, one truth is already clear: these companies are on trial in the court of history. This is the first case of its kind, but it will not be the last.

"For years, these companies resisted transparency and pointed to a supposed lack of 'definitive proof' whenever people raised alarms about harm.

"When whistleblowers raised alarms about internal practices, Meta leadership said the claims were 'misleading' and taken out of context. But the disclosures in this case have set the record straight."

They added: "Internal emails, strategy decks, and research - documents the public was never meant to see - are now evidence. They reveal not only what these companies built, but what they knew.

"This trial is already a turning point: it has forced some of the most powerful companies on earth to reveal what's behind the curtain and to answer, in public and on the record, for choices that shaped an entire generation's daily life."

If the tech companies lose, they may be compelled to alter the designs of their platforms.

Mark Lanier, the attorney for the 20-year-old, described the features of the tech giants as "Trojan horses".

He told the court: "How do you make a child never put down the phone? That's called the engineering of addiction.

"They engineered it, they put these features on the phones. These are Trojan horses: They look wonderful and great... but you invite them in and they take over."

Paul Schmidt, speaking for Meta, stated in his closing remarks that Mr Lanier was attempting to argue that if the 20-year-old had never used Instagram, her other mental health issues might have been different.

After spending a large amount of time running through the defendant's medical records and troubled relationships, he said: "The facts don't allow that. The evidence has shown just the opposite."

The jurors will not determine if particular content on the platforms was harmful, but will assess whether social media companies acted negligently in designing and modifying their products to promote increased user engagement.

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