Attorneys general from 29 US states have accused Meta of designing Facebook and Instagram features that addict children and teenagers, worsen mental health and violate child privacy and consumer protection laws. The states have told the court that penalties could total about $200bn, although the final amount, if any, would depend on the court's findings and the remedies it orders The trial for the lawsuit, filed in 2023, is expected to last six to eight weeks. During opening arguments, California deputy attorney general Megan O'Neill said Meta "carried out a campaign to deceive, to mislead its users, legislatures, teachers and parents," CNBC reported.
O'Neill also cited internal company documents, including one stating, "the young ones are the best ones", and another in which Meta said: "Teens are hooked despite how it makes them feel. Instagram is addictive," according to The Guardian. "They knew," O'Neill said.
"Time and again, profits won." The states allege that Meta violated federal and state laws, including the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, as well as consumer protection statutes. They argue that features such as infinite scroll, autoplay and beauty filters were intentionally designed to keep younger users engaged for longer. After the first day of proceedings, California attorney general Rob Bonta said the case is focused on "civil penalties, restitution and distortion," rather than primarily on damages, CNBC reported.
"This is not a damages case," Bonta said at a press conference. Meta has previously argued that the case could expose it to penalties of as much as $1.4tn. Bonta pushed back on that framing, while noting that state attorneys general told the court last week that about $200bn was a more likely figure.
"To be clear, we are not asking for $1.4tn dollars," he said, adding that the larger figure represented "the highest possible number that could ever be calculated based on that data" and that "It's a figure Meta estimated." CNBC said Meta disputes that claim. Although the case was brought by a coalition of 29 state attorneys general as part of consolidated multidistrict litigation, lawyers from California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey are leading the trial. The states are also seeking structural remedies.
According to CNBC, they want Meta to delete personal data collected from children under 13, along with related algorithms and models trained on that information, and to remove certain design features from its platforms. Meta rejected the claims in full. During his opening remarks, the company's attorney, Paul Schmidt, argued that the internal records and email exchanges presented by state lawyers had been stripped of their broader context and selectively extracted from lengthier discussions, The Guardian reported.
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