30 States Seek $1 Trillion as Meta Faces Youth Addiction Lawsuit
A federal jury trial has opened in Oakland, California, where 30 U.S. states are suing Meta Platforms over claims its Facebook and Instagram were engineered to addict children and teens. The case also alleges that Meta illegally harvested personal data from minors while they used the apps.
The coalition of states says Meta’s design choices, like infinite scroll, autoplay videos, “Like” counts and fleeting posts, push young users to stay online longer, harming their mental health. They further contend the company breached federal child‑privacy law by collecting and using children’s data without proper consent.
Meta’s defense will argue the company has invested heavily in safety tools and that the plaintiffs have not shown concrete harm to residents. The company also maintains it never misled users about the safety of its platforms.
The trial, presided over by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, is slated to run for six weeks. Meta co‑founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram chief Adam Mosseri are expected to take the stand. Attorneys for the tech giant plan to highlight the extensive safety measures Meta has rolled out in recent years.
If the states win, they could force sweeping changes to the platforms, including the removal of “Like” counters, the end of infinite scroll, and the disabling of autoplay videos. Such alterations would reshape how brands reach audiences, how influencers engage followers, and how advertisers buy inventory on the apps.
The lawsuit builds on a multistate investigation that began in 2023 after whistleblower Frances Haugen testified before a U.S. Senate committee in 2021, saying Meta knew its products could harm young users but prioritized profit over safety. Meta and other social‑media firms, including Snap, TikTok parent ByteDance, and YouTube parent Alphabet, already face thousands of lawsuits from states, municipalities, school districts and individuals over similar concerns.
A prior ruling in New Mexico fined Meta $942 million and ordered comparable design restrictions, labeling the company a “public nuisance.” That decision highlights the growing legal pressure on the tech sector to curb features deemed harmful to minors.
The states are seeking damages of up to $1 trillion, a figure that reflects both compensation for alleged harms and the cost of mandated platform overhauls. While the exact financial exposure remains uncertain, the trial’s outcome could set a precedent for how social‑media companies design user experiences worldwide.
