Meta faces trial in state lawsuit alleging platforms were designed to be addictive to youth
Meta will go on trial in Oakland after state attorneys general claim Facebook and Instagram were engineered to foster addiction among young users, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg expected to testify.
A federal jury trial began Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, where state attorneys general from California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey are suing Meta over claims that its Facebook and Instagram services were deliberately designed to be addictive for minors. The case, filed in 2023 following a multistate investigation, alleges that Meta downplayed the risks to young people and violated federal law by collecting personal data from children.
Meta denied the allegations, arguing that "social media addiction" is not a recognized psychiatric diagnosis and that the plaintiffs have not shown that users were misled. The company also described the states' financial demands as "vastly disproportionate" and said it maintains strong protections for teens.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers rejected Meta's motion to dismiss, allowing the trial to proceed for an estimated four to six weeks. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify. Attorneys for the states indicated they may seek damages in the trillions of dollars, though the exact amount has not yet been disclosed.
Legal analysts said the case could become a bellwether for how courts evaluate internal company documents about product design and mental-health impacts. An advisory jury appointed by the judge may offer recommendations on community standards for children's use of social media.
The trial follows recent rulings in other jurisdictions that ordered Meta to pay hundreds of millions of dollars and to overhaul its teen-protection measures, decisions the company plans to appeal.