SAN FRANCISCO: Twenty-nine US states are taking Meta to court over allegations that the company deliberately designed Facebook and Instagram features to keep young users engaged in ways that can contribute to addiction and harm their well-being.
The trial begins Tuesday in federal court in California and is expected to last six to eight weeks. The case is being led by attorneys general from California, Colorado, New Jersey and Kentucky.
The states filed the lawsuit in October 2023, accusing Meta of violating federal and state laws by collecting data from children under 13 without parental consent.
The 233-page complaint also alleges that the company knowingly refused to disable features that could be harmful to young users because of their focus on generating profits.
A jury is expected to hear testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri and former Meta employee Arturo Béjar, who has publicly raised concerns about the company’s practices.
States seek up to $200 billion in penalties
The states are seeking as much as $200 billion in penalties, an amount roughly equivalent to Meta’s annual revenue in 2025. They are also asking the court to require the company to make changes to the design of its platforms to improve protections for children.
State attorneys argue that Meta developed features intended to keep users spending more time on its platforms, with children and teenagers particularly vulnerable to their effects.
Meta has rejected the allegations, arguing that the lawsuit is driven by the states’ efforts to secure billions of dollars rather than by facts or applicable law.
The company said in a statement that the allegations were unfounded and that the financial demands were inappropriate, adding that the states’ lawyers lacked evidence to support their claims.
The trial comes after a New Mexico court last week ordered Meta to pay $567 million in a separate case involving allegations that the company harmed children’s mental health and failed to adequately protect young users.
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A similar lawsuit is also pending in Tennessee.
