Hajra Naz
Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is facing serious accusations. It’s accused of knowingly and deliberately designing features. Those features allegedly get children addicted to its social media platforms. Meta denies these allegations entirely.
A major federal trial against Meta opens today. The case alleges the tech giant contributed to a mental health crisis among young people.
This is the largest trial of its kind so far. Dozens of states are seeking financial damages in the case. Those damages could total as much as $1.4 trillion.
Meta faces specific accusations in this case. It’s accused of knowingly designing addictive features for children. It’s also accused of routinely collecting data on children under 13. According to the lawsuit, this happens without parental consent. That alleged practice would violate federal law.
You may also like to read: Meta Tests Stablecoin Payments Across WhatsApp and Its Apps
The company firmly denies any wrongdoing. In a statement, Meta said:
“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.”
Dozens of states originally filed this federal lawsuit three years ago. However, Tuesday’s trial focuses on just four of those states. The plaintiffs include California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey.
The remaining 25 states are expected to have their own trials later. Meta faces additional legal pressure beyond this case, too. The company is dealing with lawsuits from thousands of individual families. Similar cases are also proceeding at the state level.
Two Trials Found Meta Liable for Harm
This federal trial follows an earlier, landmark case in New Mexico. That trial took place earlier this year. It found that Meta knowingly harmed children’s mental health. It also found that the company concealed what it knew. Specifically, that concealment involved child sexual exploitation occurring on its platforms.
Read More: Meta launches Muse Code AI agent for large codebases
A judge in that case ordered significant financial penalties. Meta was ordered to pay $567 million in damages. This came on top of an earlier $375 million penalty. The company was also ordered to introduce new safety measures. That includes a strict time limit for younger users. Users under 18 now face a cap of 90 hours per month. The ruling also included restrictions on AI chatbots. Mandatory warnings across the platforms were required as well.
Combined, these penalties bring the total close to $1 billion. Meta has stated it disagrees with this ruling. The company plans to appeal the decision.
Meta isn’t the only major tech company facing this kind of legal pressure. Google was also found liable in a separate case. That ruling came from a court in Los Angeles back in March. The case centered on a woman’s social media addiction. It was widely described as a landmark ruling at the time.
Read More: Meta’s Federal Youth-Safety Trial Begins in Oakland Court
In that case, a jury reached a clear conclusion. Both Instagram and YouTube were found responsible for causing harm. The woman involved was referred to in court using the initials KGM, or the name Kaley. She said she developed multiple mental health issues. According to her case, this stemmed from using social media from a young age.
That case marked a significant first for Meta. It was the first time CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in court about child safety. He is expected to testify again during this new federal trial.
In the Los Angeles case, the woman was awarded $6 million in damages. Both Meta and Google disagree with that ruling. Both companies plan to appeal the decision as well.
