29 US states sue Meta over social media’s impact on children

More than half of the US states have jointly taken Meta, the company that owns apps such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to court. The trial against Meta is set to begin on August 18.

The US states have accused the parent company of Facebook and Instagram of designing its apps in ways that can be addictive and harmful to young people. The case is being heard in a federal court in California and is expected to continue for six to eight weeks.

The jury will hear testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri and former Meta employee Arturo Bejar who has since become a whistleblower regarding the company.

The lawsuit filed by the 29 states is being led by attorneys general from California, Colorado, New Jersey and Kentucky.

The states originally filed the lawsuit in October 2023 submitting 233 pages of documents to the court. They accused Meta of collecting data from children under the age of 13 without parental consent allegedly violating federal and state laws.

The lawsuit claims that Meta refused to stop the use of harmful features because its primary objective was to generate profits.

The case could have serious consequences for the future of the social media company as the states are seeking $200 billion in damages, an amount equivalent to Meta’s annual revenue in 2025. The states are also demanding that Meta redesign its apps to make them safer for children.

Meta, on the other hand, has rejected all the allegations. The company claims that the states filed the lawsuit to obtain billions of dollars rather than based on facts or the law.

In a statement, Meta said the case is important for the states but described their allegations as unfounded and their financial demands as inappropriate. The company also said that the attorneys do not have sufficient evidence to support their claims.

According to state attorneys, Meta has developed features designed to keep people spending as much time as possible on its apps with young users being among those most affected.

The trial comes shortly after a similar case in New Mexico where a court recently imposed a $567 million fine. A similar lawsuit is also currently being heard in the US state of Tennessee.