Meta is facing a trial in California after 29 US states accused it of deliberately designing Facebook and Instagram to hook children and maximise engagement. States allege the company concealed safety concerns and improperly collected children’s data. Meta denies its platforms are addictive, while potential penalties and business changes could reach hundreds of billions of dollars.

Meta denied allegations that it intentionally designed Facebook and Instagram to addict children for profit, as a trial brought by 29 US states began in Oakland, California.

States allege deliberate design to hook young users

A bipartisan coalition of states is seeking potentially tens or hundreds of billions of dollars in penalties and business changes from Meta. Four lead states - California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey - accused the company of designing its platforms to hook young users, contributing to anxiety, depression and suicide, and misleading the public about their safety. All 29 states allege Meta violated federal law by improperly collecting children's data.

Reuters reports that California deputy attorney general Megan O'Neill told the eight-person jury that Meta's business model was built to 'hook the users, hold them for as long as they can, harvest their data, and then hide the truth'. She said an internal email to Instagram chief Adam Mosseri identified 'teen time spent' as a goal, and that employees privately described Instagram as a 'drug'.