More than half of the US states have launched an unprecedented lawsuit against Meta, accusing the company of deliberately designing addictive products that harm young people. The federal jury trial began in Oakland, California and is expected to last between six and eight weeks.
The case represents a coordinated legal effort by 29 states, with attorneys from California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey leading the proceedings. The lawsuit, originally filed in October 2023, claims that Meta knowingly created dangerous products for minors while misleading the public about their risks.
"Meta designed a dangerous product for young users, knew it to be dangerous, and then lied to children, families and the community about how dangerous it was," said California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
The 233-page complaint alleges that Meta collects data on children under 13 without parental consent, violating federal and state laws. State attorneys argue that Meta refuses to remove harmful features and prioritizes profit over child safety. They claim the company developed psychologically manipulative features including infinite scrolling, constant notifications, like buttons and image-altering filters designed to maximize user engagement.
According to internal Meta research presented in court, a 2019 survey of 2,500 teenagers found that "young people are acutely aware that Instagram can be bad for their mental health, yet are compelled to spend time on the app for fear of missing out on cultural and social trends."
The trial will include testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri and former Meta employee turned whistleblower Arturo Béjar. If found liable, Meta could face damages as high as 200 billion dollars, equivalent to the company's 2025 annual revenue. Beyond financial penalties, states are seeking structural changes to make the platforms safer for children.
Meta denies all allegations, stating that the claims are unsubstantiated and the financial demands vastly disproportionate. The company argues that the states offer no proof of misleading residents and claim that features like additional accounts somehow caused harm.
The federal trial follows recent legal victories against Meta. In February, Meta and YouTube lost a California case and were ordered to pay 6 million dollars to a young woman. Additionally, a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay 567 million dollars in a similar child safety case, bringing the state's total recovery to 942 million dollars.
The lawsuit strategy mirrors the successful legal approach used against tobacco companies in the 1990s, which focused on the products' addictive qualities and manufacturers' knowledge of harm. Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said, "We did it with the tobacco settlement in the 1990s. We did it with the companies behind the opioid crisis. We'll do it again with Meta."