Meta faces landmark US trial over alleged harm to young users

MUMBAI: Meta’s biggest trial yet is putting its attention economy under attention. The company is facing a landmark federal trial in the US after 29 states accused Facebook and Instagram of deliberately keeping children hooked while failing to adequately protect young users.

The trial began in Oakland, California, on Tuesday and is expected to run for six weeks. California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey are leading the case, which could force major changes to how Meta designs and operates its platforms and potentially expose the company to enormous financial penalties.

The states allege that Meta built Facebook and Instagram to maximise engagement among younger users, despite knowing about vulnerabilities linked to adolescent use. They argue that features designed to keep people scrolling contributed to anxiety, depression and suicide, while accusing the company of misleading the public about the safety of its services.

The 29 states have also accused Meta of improperly collecting and using children’s personal data, allegedly violating federal law.

At the heart of the case is not simply what children see on Facebook and Instagram, but how the platforms are designed to keep them there.

During opening arguments, California Deputy Attorney General Megan O’Neill alleged that Meta’s business model centred on increasing engagement and collecting user data while concealing risks associated with its platforms. She also argued that the company actively sought younger users and studied how they responded to online stimuli.

Meta’s lawyer Paul Schmidt pushed back, acknowledging that some users experience difficulties with social media but arguing that existing research does not establish a clear link between adolescent social media use and poor wellbeing.

Schmidt also said Meta had no incentive to create products users dislike or find harmful, pointing to CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s stated objective of improving the company’s services.

The four lead states want Meta to make substantive changes to its platforms, including removing features such as likes and infinite scrolling, introducing time limits for younger users and strengthening measures intended to keep children under 13 off the services.

The jury is expected to return an advisory verdict, while US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will determine Meta’s liability. If the company is found liable, the judge could impose civil penalties and order changes to the platforms.

The potential financial exposure is already a point of contention. Meta has said the states could seek as much as $1.4 trillion in penalties, while state attorneys general have indicated the figure could be closer to $200 billion.

Former Meta safety engineer Arturo Bejar became the first witness for the states after opening arguments. Bejar has previously testified against Meta and alleges that the company’s systems for protecting children were inadequate.

He told jurors that products including Reels were launched without sufficient consideration of safety and described Meta’s approach to identifying users under 13 as inadequate.

Meta had attempted to prevent Bejar from testifying over allegations that he deleted Signal messages involving former employees, but Judge Rogers rejected the request.

Zuckerberg and Instagram chief Adam Mosseri are expected to testify during the six-week proceedings.

The case dates back to 2023, two years after former Meta employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen told a US Senate committee that the company knew its products posed risks to children.

Meta is not facing the legal pressure alone. Other major platforms, including Snap, ByteDance and Alphabet, are also dealing with thousands of lawsuits alleging harm to young users.

Earlier this month, a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million and make changes to Facebook and Instagram following a case brought by the state’s attorney general over teenagers’ mental health. A separate case filed by Tennessee over similar allegations concerning Instagram is also underway.

For Meta, the California trial therefore goes beyond a fight over individual platform features. It puts the fundamental mechanics of social media from scrolling and recommendations to engagement and data collection on trial, with the outcome potentially reshaping both how young people use these services and how Meta builds them.