Meta faces a historic trial for Facebook and Instagram's damages to young people and children

BarcelonaThe consequences of the social media business model may be arriving for Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. The giant led by Mark Zuckerberg faces this Tuesday the first session of a trial that could place limits on what part of the North American administration considers digital excesses. 29 US states, led by Colorado, California, New Jersey, and Kentucky, accuse the multinational of having introduced functions and dynamics on its main platforms that generate addiction among children and adolescents.

The trial, which will be held in Oakland, Northern California, represents one of the biggest legal challenges in the history of the digital economy. The proceedings are expected to last several weeks, and will include testimony from several of Meta's visible faces, including founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg; or Instagram director Adam Mosseri.

The prosecutors from the four states representing the plaintiffs will have to prove that Facebook and Instagram's architecture is not safe for young people and children, despite the company claiming it is. They will also argue that Meta has violated the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), as it has allegedly collected personal data from its users under the age of 13, contrary to the regulations' stipulations.

According to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, "Meta designed a dangerous product for young users, knew it was dangerous, and lied to children, families, and the community about its dangers." In a joint statement with the other prosecutors leading the lawsuit, released Monday, Bonta stated his goal is to "hold Meta accountable." In a similar vein, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport accuses the multinational of having "endangered the mental health of an entire generation, with addictive features that they knew would have terrible effects."

In the joint statement, the legal representatives of the four states recall that Meta has previously attempted to stop efforts to scrutinize its business activities. In 2024, notes the Californian legal office, the multinational tried to have the state's federal court reject the coalition of states' complaint; an attempt that came to nothing. Just two months ago, last June, the tech giant attempted to obtain a summary judgment for the case, and received a complete denial from the Californian justice system.

Meta's defense

The plaintiffs have not publicly disclosed the amount they seek to obtain in sanctions against the company, although they explained in June that the number of law violations identified in Meta's structure should be multiplied – a figure that would be gigantic, as it would correspond to all minors using Facebook and Instagram – by the amount of fines established in state law. According to the company, the sanction that would arise from this calculation would amount to over $1.4 trillion, an amount that practically coincides with the multinational's stock market capitalization.

"A sanction of this magnitude has no comparison in the history of consumer protection," Meta alleged in the documentation submitted to the court and reported by the Reuters agency. In fact, in a statement addressing the accusations, the company accused the attorneys general of "seeking an outlandish payment instead of basing themselves on the law and the facts." In the same note, the firm dismisses the basis of the complaints, arguing that they "misrepresent the company and the work it does to offer young people safe and valuable online experiences."

The corporation has been highly critical of the scope of the demands and the possible sanction, and directly points to the legal representatives of the states. "The attorneys general may call this a landmark case, but their arguments are limited and lack substance, and their financial demands are wildly disproportionate," they stated in their public response. Against the prosecution's arguments, they insist that the lawyers "offer no evidence that anyone in their states has been deceived." "They are trying to penalize Meta for challenges that the entire industry faces, such as age verification," they add.

In any case, the trial will culminate an investigation that has taken years and efforts by various U.S. administrations. The push to regulate the activity of social platforms accelerated strongly in 2021, when former Facebook employee Frances Haugen appeared before the U.S. Senate to accuse the multinational of "putting its immense profits ahead of people." "As long as Facebook continues to operate in the shadows, it answers to no one, and will continue to make decisions that harm the common good," Haugen went as far as to say.

State prosecutors, following those statements, began an investigation that lasted for years, and filed a lawsuit in 2023 that places it on the same level as the historic rulings that managed to regulate tobacco, for example. "We acted with the tobacco agreements in the 90s. We acted against the companies that caused the opioid crisis. We will do it again with Meta," Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman stated in his joint press release.