Meta faces child-safety lawsuit as states allege platforms addict kids
Four U.S. states have sued Meta Platforms, claiming the company designed Instagram and Facebook to hook minors and violated child-privacy laws, while the firm denies the accusations.
A federal trial in Oakland began Tuesday with California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey suing Meta Platforms over alleged design practices that encourage addictive use among children. The states contend that features such as infinite scroll, photo filters and the "like" button were purposefully engineered to keep young users engaged, boosting advertising revenue at the expense of mental-health wellbeing.
"Meta's business model can be summed up in four simple words: 'hook' the users, 'hold' them for as long as they can, 'harvest' their data, and then 'hide' the truth from the public when making public statements," said California Deputy Attorney General Megan O'Neill in opening arguments.
The plaintiffs also allege violations of the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act for collecting data on users under 13 without parental consent. Internal Meta communications cited by the states, including a 2016 email referencing "teen time spent" as a company goal and a study titled "Long Term Retention: The Young Ones Are The Best Ones," are presented as evidence of profit-driven intent.
Meta responded that the claims are unsubstantiated and highlighted its safety measures, such as enhanced privacy settings and an Instagram timer that alerts users after one hour of use. In court, Meta attorney Paul Schmidt argued the states were cherry-picking data and that the company has taken meaningful steps to address concerns about youth usage.
"Let me be clear: Meta has talked over the years about people struggling with social media," Schmidt told the advisory jury, adding that the company takes such issues seriously.
The case marks a shift from previous litigation that focused on user-generated content to accusations of problematic product design. Potential penalties have been estimated at up to $1.4 trillion, though the states have not specified a target amount. The trial, overseen by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, is expected to last about six weeks, with the possibility of Meta appealing any adverse ruling.
Former Meta engineer Arturo Béjar, the first witness for the states, testified that internal studies showed higher rates of harmful content exposure among younger users and that the company used the euphemism "problematic use" instead of "addiction" to downplay the issue.