Meta is facing a potentially far-reaching legal challenge as a jury trial brought by 30 US states over the alleged targeting and harm of young users begins on Tuesday.
The lawsuit, filed in 2023 by states including California and New York, accuses Meta of violating federal and state privacy laws designed to protect children.
The states are seeking damages that could exceed $1tn and want Meta to make sweeping changes to Instagram and Facebook, including removing “like” counts and ending infinite scroll.
A ruling against Meta on this scale could fundamentally change how young people use the company's platforms.
One state attorney general has described the case as “the largest consumer protection lawsuit in American history”.
“We'll show a jury that Meta concealed what it knew about the harm its products cause young people because looking away was more profitable,” Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said.
“AGs are in the perfect position to get this done. We did it with the Tobacco Settlement in the 1990s. We did it with the companies behind the opioid crisis. We'll do it again with Meta.”
What do the states want Meta to change?
Kentucky and the other states involved are seeking a range of measures that would significantly alter how Instagram and Facebook work for younger users.
They want Meta to:
- introduce parental verification for teenage users
- change its “dopamine-manipulating recommendation algorithms”
- remove many image filters that alter users' appearance
- end autoplay for video content
- prevent young users from creating multiple accounts
- end disappearing or “ephemeral” content such as Instagram Stories
- remove or limit features such as infinite scroll and “like” count
The states argue that many of these features are designed to keep users—including children and teenagers—on the platforms for longer and encourage them to return repeatedly.
They also allege that Meta uses frequent notifications and other design features to make it harder for young users to disengage from its services.
According to the states, Meta knowingly “chose to exploit” young people to increase user engagement, grow its user base and ultimately expand its business. Meta's market value is currently around $1.5tn.
Meta strongly denies the allegations.
“We strongly disagree with these allegations and are confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people,” a company spokeswoman said.
The case is being heard by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in California. She previously presided over the high-profile legal battle involving Elon Musk and Sam Altman.
Social media declared a “public nuisance”
The trial comes after Meta suffered another major legal setback in New Mexico.
A judge there ordered the company to pay $942m and implement changes similar to those being sought by the 30 states.
Judge Bryan Biedscheid's order included removing Instagram and Facebook “like” counts for users under 18, preventing teenagers from sending or receiving nude images through the platforms, and restricting push notifications to certain hours.
He also declared Meta a “public nuisance”, comparing the company's alleged impact to that of a factory polluting the air and causing harm across an entire population.
Meta has said it will appeal the ruling.
The New Mexico order applies only within that state. But if the 30 states succeed in their separate case, Meta could be forced to introduce similar changes across the US.
The states involved represent almost two-thirds of the country's population, potentially giving any ruling much wider consequences.
Would the changes make a difference?
Kelly Stonelake, a former Meta executive who became a whistleblower and children's online safety advocate, told the BBC's Today programme that she was uncertain whether legal action would lead to meaningful changes at the top of the company.
“I think there is a huge amount of cognitive dissonance and rationalisation that has to exist in order to be making decisions like they're making now, despite the evidence that makes very clear those decisions are harming vulnerable people,” she said.
She also questioned how the potential financial losses being sought by the states had been calculated.
“Like” counts, for example, have been a fundamental part of Meta's platforms since Facebook's early days. Today, likes remain one of the main ways users engage with posts, photos and videos across social media.
But researchers and campaigners increasingly argue that the pursuit of likes and online validation can contribute to negative experiences for young people.
The case of a nine-year-old user
One young woman who successfully sued Meta earlier this year, identified as Kaley, described in court how she created dozens of accounts on YouTube and Instagram.
She used those accounts to generate likes on her own posts, hoping to increase engagement and gain validation.
Kaley was just nine years old at the time. She told the court she remembered feeling depressed and was later diagnosed with depression at the age of 10.
Her testimony illustrates the central question facing the jury: whether Meta's platforms merely provide tools that young users can choose to engage with, or whether the company's design decisions actively encourage harmful patterns of behaviour among children.
