Meta Platforms has refuted allegations from U.S. states that it deliberately aimed to create dependency among children on its Facebook and Instagram platforms for financial gain as a crucial trial began on Tuesday. A coalition of 29 U.S. states is taking legal action against Meta, seeking potentially significant financial penalties and alterations to Meta’s business practices.
California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey, the leading states in the lawsuit, accused Meta of designing Facebook and Instagram to attract young users, leading to increased stress, depression, and even suicidal tendencies, while also deceiving consumers about the safety of the platforms. The states accused Meta of breaching federal laws by inappropriately gathering and utilizing children’s personal data.
The trial, occurring in an Oakland, California federal court, is considered a major legal examination of social media’s impact on young users. Meta, along with other social media giants like Snap, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, and YouTube’s parent Alphabet, are facing numerous lawsuits from states, municipalities, school districts, and individuals over the alleged harmful effects of their products on young users.
During the trial’s opening statements, Megan O’Neill, a California deputy attorney general, asserted that Meta’s business strategy revolved around engaging users, retaining them for extended periods, collecting their data, and concealing the truth from the public. She emphasized that this strategy was particularly effective with children, as Meta needed to cater to younger users while assuring their guardians of their safety.
Meta’s legal representative, Paul Schmidt, acknowledged that some social media users encounter challenges but highlighted that research has not definitively proven a direct link between adolescents’ social media use and their well-being. Schmidt also emphasized that Meta’s co-founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, shared the company’s commitment to enhancing its services rather than endangering its users.
The jurors are expected to provide an advisory verdict, which the U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will consider when determining Meta’s liability. If Meta is found liable, Rogers could impose financial penalties and mandate changes to Facebook and Instagram, potentially amounting to billions of dollars, a figure close to Meta’s market value.
The states advocating for the lawsuit proposed various modifications to Facebook and Instagram, including eliminating features like likes and infinite scrolling, setting time restrictions for younger users, and enforcing measures to prevent children under 13 from accessing the platforms.
Following the opening arguments, Arturo Bejar, a former Meta safety engineer, testified as the states’ initial witness. Bejar claimed that Meta was aware of the ineffectiveness of its child safety tools and criticized the company’s lax approach to monitoring children under 13 online. He highlighted Meta’s rush to launch products without considering safety implications, such as the introduction of Reels short-form videos.
Zuckerberg and Instagram’s head, Adam Mosseri, are expected to testify during the six-week trial. Meta’s stock prices experienced a decline during the trial proceedings, closing down by 4.4% at $543.67 US.
Critics of Meta congregated outside the courthouse as the trial commenced, with individuals like Mary Rodee, whose son tragically died by suicide, attributing the incident to Facebook’s failure to protect children from online dangers. The trial, which commenced in 2023 following whistleblower Frances Haugen’s revelations, has brought to light significant concerns regarding social media platforms’ impact on young users.