Meta faces landmark US trial over alleged harm to children from Instagram, Facebook

Opening statements are set to begin Tuesday in a landmark US trial that could force Meta to make sweeping changes to Instagram and Facebook over allegations that it deliberately designed the platforms to encourage compulsive use among children and teenagers.

An eight-member advisory jury has been selected for the trial in federal court in Oakland, California. Proceedings before US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers are expected to last about seven weeks.

The case stems from a federal complaint originally filed in October 2023 by a bipartisan coalition of 33 state attorneys general.

The current proceeding involves 29 states. California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey will present their state consumer-protection claims during the trial, while the coalition’s joint federal claim under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, will also be considered.

The states accuse Meta of knowingly designing Facebook and Instagram with features intended to keep young users on the platforms for longer while misleading children and their parents about the risks.

They allege that features including infinite scrolling, notifications, “likes,” visual filters and algorithmic recommendation systems encourage compulsive use and have contributed to mental and physical health problems among young people.

The lawsuit also accuses Meta of illegally collecting personal information from children under 13 without obtaining verifiable parental consent, as required by COPPA.

In June, Rogers found that Meta’s notice and parental-consent procedures did not satisfy COPPA’s requirements. The trial must still determine whether the law applied in the circumstances, including whether Meta knew particular users were under 13.

Meta denies wrongdoing and says it has spent years developing protections for younger users, including Teen Accounts, age-detection technology, parental supervision tools and restrictions on potentially harmful content.

The company has also invoked Section 230, which generally protects online platforms from liability for content posted by users, and the First Amendment. The judge has narrowed parts of the case but allowed the central design and misrepresentation claims to proceed.

Possible repercussions

The case could have consequences extending far beyond financial penalties for Meta.

The states are seeking changes to how the company operates Instagram and Facebook, including stronger age restrictions and measures targeting features alleged to encourage excessive use.

Proposed remedies could include restrictions on infinite scrolling, changes to recommendation algorithms, limits on notifications and the deletion of algorithms or artificial intelligence systems trained using children’s data.

Meta estimates that the four states’ proposed method of calculating civil penalties could expose it to as much as $1.4 trillion. The court has not endorsed that figure, however, and no award has been made.

The jury’s role is unusual because Meta withdrew its demand for a jury trial. The eight-member panel will therefore serve in an advisory capacity, meaning its findings will not be binding. Rogers will ultimately decide liability and any remedies.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram chief Adam Mosseri are among the senior company executives who could testify during the proceedings.

The trial comes amid growing legal pressure on social media companies in the US, with thousands of lawsuits accusing platforms of contributing to mental health problems among children and teenagers.

Earlier this month, a New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay an additional $567 million and imposed five years of court-supervised reforms aimed at protecting minors on Facebook and Instagram.

That brought Meta’s total financial liability in the New Mexico case to $942 million, including a previous $375 million civil penalty. Meta has said it will appeal the ruling.