Oakland (GNP): Opening arguments began on Tuesday in a landmark federal trial against Meta, with a coalition of US states accusing the social media company of deliberately designing Instagram and Facebook to be addictive to children and seeking $200 billion in penalties.
Four states — California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey — are representing a broader coalition of 29 states that first filed suit against Meta in 2023, marking the culmination of a legal effort years in the making.
The case has drawn comparisons to earlier legal battles against the tobacco industry, with experts describing it as social media’s “big tobacco moment.” Meta stands accused of using technology specifically engineered to foster addiction among young users, an approach prosecutors argue mirrors tactics once used by cigarette manufacturers to hook consumers.
Stanford law professor Nora Freeman Engstrom said the trial could mark the start of a wider reckoning for the company, with Meta potentially facing a mandate to overhaul both of its major platforms should it lose the case.
The lawsuit rests on three central allegations: that Meta misled the public about the dangers its apps pose to minors, that it built certain features specifically to keep children engaged, and that it collected data on children under the age of 13 without parental consent.
Also Read: PTA, Google Sign MoU on Children’s Online Safety
Meta has denied all the allegations, maintaining that it has worked alongside parents, experts and law enforcement to build protective safeguards for younger users into its platforms.
Among those expected to testify are Meta founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri, whose testimony is likely to draw significant attention given their direct roles in shaping the platforms at the centre of the case.
The trial is also being closely watched as a bellwether for the industry more broadly, as it represents the first federal trial in what is expected to be a wave of similar lawsuits targeting other major platforms, including TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube, as families, educators and state governments increasingly hold technology companies accountable for the mental health impact of their products on young people.
