Trial against Meta: Allegations of harmful influence on the mental health of young people

The case is the result of a class action lawsuit filed in 2023. It is led by four states: California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey.

According to prosecutors, Facebook and Instagram may contribute to mental problems of young users. Meta also allegedly misused children's data.

California Department of Justice Deputy Attorney General Megan O'Neill argued Tuesday that the company's business model was designed to "attract users, keep them as long as possible, harvest their data, and then hide the truth from the public."

Meta needs children and must assure those who care for them that they are safe, she added.

Meta's lawyer Paul Schmidt admitted that some users are struggling, but emphasized the lack of evidence of a direct link between the use of the platforms and the deterioration of teenagers' well-being. (At Meta) they don't believe they will be successful if people are not satisfied with their services, he noted.

Possible multi-billion dollar compensation

The process will take approximately six weeks. If a judge finds Meta liable, the company could be financially penalized and required to make changes to the platforms' operation.

These could include, among others:

giving up infinite scrolling,

limiting the number of "likes" for minors,

removal of beauty filters that may lead to problems with body image,

abolition of algorithms optimized to maximize user engagement.

According to court documents, potential compensation could reach almost $200 billion, which would constitute almost 14 percent. the total market value of the company. As of Wednesday, the market value of the Menlo Park, California-based company is $1.45 trillion.

As O'Neill emphasized, the goal of the lawsuit is not to bring down Meta, and the social networks themselves "have some advantages." However, she added that the company used children to study how their brains responded to online stimuli and tracked their activity on the platforms.