Around two hundred billion dollars in sanctions and profound changes to Facebook and Instagram including the end of the counting of 'likes' and measures against infinite scrolling: these are the risks that Meta, Mark Zuckerberg's company which controls among others the two social platforms, runs in the trial against him which opened yesterday in the USA. The federal accusation brought by four states against the tech giant is heavy: Meta would have - as reported by the New York Times - caused harm to children with technology built to cause addiction like cigarettes. According to California's deputy attorney general, Megan O'Neil, the company "depended on and exploited minors" as well as "deceived" the public. Adding that Meta "exploited the functioning of children's brains". The company for its part defended itself by saying that it "tried to address the risks associated with social media": the group "tried to help users with usage problems", replied the group of lawyers.
The lawsuit filed by California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey accuses Meta of contributing to the youth mental health crisis by deliberately designing addictive features in its platform and hiding these harms from the public, the Associated Press reports. Furthermore, Meta is accused of having collected data from children under 13 years of age without parental consent, in violation of a federal law. For its part, as mentioned, the company defended itself by stating that it "has tried to address the risks associated with social media". At a trial hearing in Oakland over allegations it fosters addictive behavior among children and teenagers, the Facebook and Instagram holding company said the group "tried to help users with usage problems." In any case, the prosecutors aim to bring some top figures of the company to testify, including - as reported by CNN - Mark Zuckerberg himself.
The accusation against Meta dates back to 2023 and was brought by 29 states, although the federal trial that opened yesterday currently involves four: California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey. The lawsuit could bring about crucial changes for Facebook and Instagram, as well as lay the foundation for mega compensations estimated by the company's allies at up to $1.4 trillion. Industry experts have labeled this phase as social media's "big tobacco moment," with Meta in its sights. In the 1990s, tobacco companies were forced to pay billions of dollars for deceiving the public about the safety and potential harms of their products, and as a result saw their power and influence dramatically reduced.
The process should last a period of between 6 and 8 weeks, and the stakes, as mentioned, are very high: a victory for the 4 states would substantially change the landscape of social networks. The prosecution is supported by a group of prosecutors representing California, Colorado, New Jersey and Kentucky. Meanwhile, in a court document, the state attorneys general said they wanted to obtain "permanent injunctive relief, on a national - rather than state - basis to put an end to Meta's illicit actions and practices": if found to have violated federal law, the states will ask the company to delete all personal data of children under 13, as well as the "algorithms and models" trained using the relevant information.
