United States of America

Meta Youth Social Media Addiction Trial Begins in California

Did Meta knowingly harm children for profit or are states waging an evidence-free smear campaign against the tech giant?

Published AUG 18

Meta Youth Social Media Addiction Trial Begins in California

Story

Above: Attorney Paul Schmidt, representing Meta, arrives at the courthouse in Oakland, California, on Aug. 18. Image credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Facts

Opening arguments began Tuesday in federal court in Oakland, California, in a lawsuit brought by 29 state attorneys general against Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, over allegations the company designed addictive platforms that harmed children's mental health.
Forbes
AP News
Four states — California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey — are leading the trial and seeking damages that Meta says could total as much as $1.4 trillion, a figure nearly equal to the company's market valuation. Meta disputed the calculation of damages.
NPR
CNN
Fox Business
The states allege Meta collected data on children under 13 without parental consent in violation of federal law, arguing in court that 20% of American 11-year-olds use Instagram. Meta says it proactively removes underage accounts and that a causal link to addiction is yet to be found.
Engadget
The Guardian
BBC News
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri are expected to testify during the trial, which is set to last six to eight weeks. An eight-person jury will serve in an advisory role, with Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers holding final authority over the verdict and damages.
Bloomberg
Forbes
The federal trial follows two prior court losses for Meta this year. A New Mexico jury ordered the company to pay $567 million, while a Los Angeles jury ordered Meta and Google to pay $6 million in damages to a plaintiff who alleged the platforms harmed her mental health.
FOX News
PBS NewsHour
The Washington Examiner
Meta's chief legal officer said the company plans to "aggressively" appeal recent verdicts, while states have drawn comparisons to tobacco litigation of the 1990s. California Deputy Attorney General Megan O'Neill cited an internal Meta document she said referred to young users as "the best ones."
FOX News
Breitbart
AP News

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Meta knowingly designed Facebook and Instagram to hook kids, sacrificing their sleep, school performance and mental health just to rack up revenue. The evidence is clear — Meta knew its platforms were harming young users and lied about the risks anyway. Holding Meta accountable is the only way to stop a tech giant from profiting off a generation's suffering.

Phill Weiser Colorado Attorney General

Office of the Attorney General of California on X

NYU

Narrative B

The states are engaging in a smear campaign against Meta. Addiction is a clinical term that doesn't apply to social media habits, however harmful, and studies are inconclusive on the effects of long-term use amongst adolescents, confounded by preexisting mental health conditions and family structure. This case is not founded upon evidence.

Cato