Opening arguments are scheduled to begin Tuesday in a federal trial where Meta Platforms faces accusations of contributing to a youth mental health crisis through its design of Facebook and Instagram.
Attorneys general representing California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey are among those seeking financial damages and operational changes from the tech giant. In total, 29 states initiated the lawsuit in 2023, alleging that Meta knowingly designed features to foster addiction in children and routinely collected data on users under 13 without parental consent, in violation of federal law. Twenty-five other states are slated to have their cases heard at a later date.
"This week, we’re in court with the largest consumer protection lawsuit in American history. We’ll show a jury that Meta concealed what it knew about the harm its products cause young people because looking away was more profitable," stated Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman in a press release.
Meta maintains it has a strong defense. The company stated, "We are proud of our record in protecting teens on our platforms and the amount of effort that we’ve put into developing protections over the years, even before these cases were ever filed, and continuing to the present day. We look forward to showing the judge and the jury those facts in court."
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2011, will preside over the proceedings in Oakland, California. The trial is anticipated to last between six and eight weeks, with testimony expected from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, other company executives, and former employees. Judge Gonzalez Rogers has previously overseen significant cases involving major technology companies, including litigation involving Elon Musk and Apple.
This trial is part of a broader wave of lawsuits targeting Meta and other social media companies, including Google's YouTube, TikTok, and Snap. These suits raise similar allegations regarding platform design, data collection, and the purported negative impact on young users.