Jury selection began Wednesday, Aug. 12, in a major federal trial against Meta over allegations that Facebook and Instagram were designed to keep children engaged and that the company illegally collected minors’ data.
The case before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, is expected to last about seven weeks. Opening statements are scheduled for Aug. 18, with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri expected to testify.
The trial is one of the biggest tests yet of efforts by U.S. states, schools and families to hold social media companies legally responsible for alleged harm to children.
What the states allege
The case combines two strands of litigation. California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey are pursuing claims that Meta deliberately used platform features designed to keep young users engaged while misleading consumers about the risks.
Separately, 29 states allege Meta collected and used data from children under 13 without parental consent, in violation of federal law.
The states are seeking changes that could affect how Facebook and Instagram operate nationwide.
Their demands include stronger age restrictions, limits on notifications and infinite scrolling, tighter time limits for younger users and changes to recommendation systems.
They are also seeking the deletion of algorithms and artificial intelligence models allegedly developed using children’s data.
Meta denies wrongdoing
Meta has rejected the allegations and says it has spent years introducing protections for young users.
“We strongly disagree with these allegations,” the company said Wednesday.
Meta has said it has worked with parents, researchers and law enforcement and introduced measures including parental controls and protections for teenage accounts.
The company has also argued that “social media addiction” is not formally recognized as a mental health diagnosis and disputes claims that it misled users about such a condition.
Case follows years of scrutiny
The legal challenge grew out of increasing scrutiny of Meta’s treatment of young users. In 2021, former Meta employee Frances Haugen told a U.S. Senate committee that the company knew some of its products could negatively affect children and teenagers but had failed to make changes that could reduce those risks.
Her disclosures helped trigger a multistate investigation, followed by the states’ lawsuit in 2023.
Gonzalez Rogers has formed an advisory jury for the current trial. Jurors will make findings on specific questions, but the judge is not required to follow them and will issue the binding decision.
A ruling is expected after the trial concludes, currently scheduled for October.
Thousands of cases target social media firms
The dispute is part of a much broader legal challenge facing the social media industry.
More than 3,000 federal lawsuits involving Meta, Snap, TikTok parent ByteDance and YouTube parent Alphabet have been consolidated before Gonzalez Rogers.
A separate proceeding involving more than 3,300 cases is also underway in California state court.
The cases have been brought by states, school districts, local authorities and individuals who allege that social media products contributed to mental health problems among children.
Meta has estimated that statutory penalties in the current states’ case could theoretically reach $1.4 trillion if the plaintiffs prevailed on their claims. That figure is not an expected loss, and the attorneys general have not publicly specified how much they will seek.
The trial comes after recent setbacks for Meta, including a New Mexico ruling ordering the company to pay $567 million into a teen mental health fund and introduce youth-safety changes. Meta has said it will appeal.
Reuters/Ipsos poll published Aug. 9 found that 61% of Americans favored stronger regulation of social media companies, while 66% supported age-verification requirements aimed at keeping children under 16 off platforms.
Additionally, an overwhelming 85% of respondents perceive social media as potentially addictive for children, and many express concerns about its negative impact.
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