Meta Platforms denied allegations made by a group of U.S. states that it deliberately aimed to make children dependent on its Facebook and Instagram platforms for financial gain as a trial began on Tuesday. The coalition of 29 states is suing Meta, seeking significant financial penalties and changes to the company’s operational practices.
The lead states, including California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey, accused Meta of designing Facebook and Instagram to engage young users excessively, leading to mental health issues and deceiving consumers about platform safety. The states alleged that Meta violated federal laws by inappropriately collecting and using children’s personal data.
The trial taking place in an Oakland, California federal court is considered a significant legal challenge to assess the impact of social media on young individuals. Apart from Meta, other social media giants such as Snap, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, and YouTube’s parent company Alphabet, are facing numerous lawsuits from various entities over the potential harm their products cause to young users.
During the trial’s opening statements, Megan O’Neill, a deputy attorney general for California, claimed that Meta’s strategy was to engage users, gather their data, and conceal the truth from the public, particularly targeting children. O’Neill emphasized that Meta prioritized attracting and retaining young users while assuring their safety.
Meta’s legal representative, Paul Schmidt, acknowledged that some social media users encounter challenges but argued that there was no clear evidence linking adolescents’ social media use to poor well-being. He highlighted that Meta’s co-founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, shared the company’s commitment to enhancing its services rather than endangering users.
The trial’s outcome will be influenced by an eight-person jury’s advisory verdict, which the U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will consider. If Meta is found liable, civil penalties could be imposed, and alterations to Facebook and Instagram might be mandated. Meta has mentioned that potential penalties could reach up to $1.4 trillion, nearly equal to the company’s market value.
Furthermore, the states involved in the lawsuit are pushing for extensive changes to Facebook and Instagram, including eliminating features like likes and infinite scrolling, imposing time limits on younger users, and implementing stricter regulations to prevent children under 13 from accessing these platforms.
The trial’s first witness, former Meta safety engineer Arturo Bejar, testified against the company, alleging that Meta was aware of the ineffectiveness of its child safety measures. Bejar criticized Meta’s approach to monitoring underage users and highlighted how safety considerations were neglected during the launch of products like Reels short-form videos.
The trial is anticipated to last six weeks, with upcoming testimonies from high-profile figures like Mark Zuckerberg and Adam Mosseri. Meta’s stock prices experienced a decline during the trial proceedings, closing down by 4.4% on Tuesday.
While critics gathered outside the court as the trial commenced, including individuals who had experienced personal tragedies related to social media use, the legal battle against Meta continues as more states join in raising concerns about the impact of platforms like Facebook and Instagram on young users.