Meta trial begins with states accusing social media giant of exploiting, intentionally addicting children
Experts say trial is biggest legal test yet of social media's effects on young users
Meta Platforms rejected accusations by U.S. states that it intentionally sought to addict children to its Facebook and Instagram platforms in pursuit of profit as a trial that that could reshape some of the most popular apps on the planet got underway Tuesday
A bipartisan group of 29 U.S. states is suing Meta, seeking potentially tens or hundreds of billions of dollars in penalties and changes to how Meta does business.
Four lead states — California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey — accused Meta of designing Facebook and Instagram to hook young users, fuelling anxiety, depression and even suicide, and misleading consumers about the platforms' safety.
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states → begin → safety
All 29 states accused Meta of violating federal law by improperly collecting and using children's personal data.
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states → accuse → data
Experts have called the trial in the Oakland, Calif., federal court, which heard opening statements Tuesday, the biggest legal test yet of social media's effects on young users.
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which → call → users
Meta and other social media companies including Snap, TikTok parent ByteDance and YouTube parent Alphabet face thousands of lawsuits by states, municipalities, school districts and individuals over whether their products harm young users.
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products → include → users
Megan O'Neill, a deputy attorney general for California, told the eight-person jury that Meta's business model was to "hook the users, hold them for as long as they can, harvest their data, and then hide the truth from the public."
"It worked especially well for kids," O'Neill added.
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O'Neill → tell → kids
"Meta needed kids, and it needed to reassure the people who cared about those kids that the kids are safe."
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kids → need → kids
Meta's lawyer Paul Schmidt said there was "no dispute" that some social media users face struggles, but that research showed no clear link between adolescents' social media use and a lack of well-being.
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research → say → being
He also said Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's co-founder and CEO, shared the company's desire to improve its services, and not make them dangerous.
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them → say → services
"They don't believe they're going to do well if people don't like their service," Schmidt said.
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Schmidt → believe → service
Judge could order changes to Instagram, Facebook
Jurors are expected to issue an advisory verdict — a non-binding position the judge could take into consideration as guidance — but U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will ultimately determine Meta's liability.
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Rogers → order → liability
If she finds Meta liable, Rogers could impose civil penalties and order changes to Facebook and Instagram.
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Rogers → find → Facebook
Meta has said penalties could be as high as $1.4 trillion US, close to the Menlo Park, California-based company's market value.
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penalties → say → value
Attorneys general said at a hearing last week the amount could be closer to $200 billion US, or about three years of after-tax profit for Meta.
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amount → say → Meta
California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey also want Meta to overhaul Facebook and Instagram, including by eliminating likes and the infinite scroll that encourages views of new posts, setting time limits for younger users, and enforcing restrictions to keep children under 13 offline.
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that → want → 13
First witness testifies
After opening arguments concluded, former Meta safety engineer Arturo Bejar began testifying as the states' first witness.
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Bejar → testify → witness
Bejar has long said Meta knew its child safety tools did not work, and has testified against the company in four trials.
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tools → say → trials
Meta sought to block his testimony, allegedly for deleting Signal messages with former employees, but Rogers rejected what she considered a long-shot bid to eliminate a key witness.
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she → seek → witness
Bejar told jurors that "move fast and break things" was a mantra at Meta, which he said took a "don't ask, don't tell" approach to monitoring whether children under 13 were online.
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children → tell → 13
"Many products were shipped into the world," such as Reels short-form videos, "and safety was not a consideration in how it was initially deployed," Bejar said.
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Bejar → ship → videos
Employees viewed Instagram as 'drug,' states allege
Zuckerberg and Instagram chief Adam Mosseri are expected to testify.
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Zuckerberg → view → drug
The trial is scheduled to last six weeks.
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trial → schedule → ?
Meta shares traded lower most of Tuesday and closed down 4.4 per cent at $543.67 US.
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shares → trade → US
O'Neill said the states were not trying to put Meta out of business, saying social media "has some benefits for some people."
But she said Meta exploited children by researching how their brains work and react to online stimuli, and by tracking their interactions on its apps.
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brains → say → apps
She said an internal email sent to Mosseri noted that "teen time spent" was the goal, and that Meta employees viewed Instagram as a "drug" and themselves as "pushers."
"Meta found the younger a kid is when they start using the app, the better," O'Neill said.
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O'Neill → say → app
Schmidt acknowledged that employees might use "loose" language in private, but said Meta's products were not addictive, and that jurors would hear what the employee who called Instagram a drug did to make it safer.
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it → acknowledge → Instagram
Critics gather outside court
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Critics → gather → court
Some critics of Meta spoke outside the courthouse as the trial began.
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trial → speak → courthouse
Among them was Mary Rodee, who said her 15-year-old son Riley Basford died by suicide in 2021 after being victimized by a predator on Facebook.
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son → say → Facebook
"They call it spontaneous suicide," she said.
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she → call → it
"I call it what it was, the predictable outcome of a system that protects corporations instead of children."
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that → call → children
The lawsuit began in 2023, two years after whistleblower Frances Haugen told a U.S. Senate committee that Meta knew its products were unsafe for children and knew how to make them safe, but did nothing in order to pursue higher profits.
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them → begin → profits
In March, a Los Angeles jury ordered Meta and Google to pay $6 million US to a 20-year-old woman who said she became addicted to Instagram and YouTube as a child.
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she → order → child
Earlier this month, a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million US to address teenagers' mental health after that state's attorney general called its platforms a public nuisance.
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general → order → platforms
Tennessee's attorney general is also suing Meta, raising similar claims about Instagram.
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general → sue → Instagram
The Aporia
