Lawyers representing 29 US states have accused Meta of concealing internal research that allegedly showed Instagram was addictive for teenagers, as a landmark legal battle over social media and children’s safety got under way in California.
During opening statements on Tuesday, attorneys general told a federal jury that Meta knew its products could harm young users but failed to disclose what it knew. The case centres on allegations that the company deliberately designed Instagram and Facebook features to keep children and teenagers engaged, despite concerns about their effects.
Megan O’Neill, a deputy attorney general for California, told jurors that protecting children online was a shared responsibility but argued that Meta had failed to uphold its part, reported The Guardian.
O’Neill said jurors would hear testimony from witnesses and see internal documents obtained during investigations into Meta. She cited one document that stated, “the young ones are the best ones”, as well as another in which Meta allegedly acknowledged: “Teens are hooked despite how it makes them feel. Instagram is addictive.”
“They knew,” O’Neill said. “Time and again, profits won.”
The lawsuit accuses Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, of intentionally developing products designed to be addictive and draw young users into prolonged engagement, while allegedly contributing to harm to their mental health.
The trial is taking place in federal court in Oakland, California, and is expected to last six to eight weeks. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri and other company executives are expected to testify.
Following opening statements, the states called former Meta employee and whistleblower Arturo Béjar as their first witness.
The 233-page lawsuit was initially filed in October 2023. It alleges that Meta routinely collected data from children under 13 without parental consent, in violation of federal and state laws.
Lawmakers also allege that Meta has refused to discontinue features it knew could be harmful to children, arguing that the company’s focus was on maximising profits. The lawsuit was filed jointly by attorneys general from 29 states under multidistrict litigation, with lawyers from California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey leading the trial proceedings.
The case could have major consequences for Meta if the company is found liable. The attorneys general say damages could reach as much as $200 billion, an amount equivalent to Meta’s annual revenue in 2025.
The states are also seeking measures that would force Meta to change the design of its products to make them safer for children. Such changes could have a longer-term impact on the company than any financial penalty.
Meta has denied the allegations. During opening arguments, its lawyer Paul Schmidt told jurors that government lawyers had selected internal documents and emails without providing their full context.
Schmidt said Meta had conducted multiple studies involving young users to determine “what can we do to support teens in this space”. He also said the company had disabled more than 1 million accounts belonging to children under 13 and was “acting in a meaningful way to remove” young users.
A Meta spokesperson said in a statement that the states had chosen to pursue what the company described as an “outlandish payout” rather than focus on the facts or the law.
