Food is not usually good or bad in itself. It all depends on how it is used (or abused). The same applies to social networks, from Instagram to X. On the other hand, there are activities that are not permitted for minors, such as the sale of alcohol or tobacco. So, why shouldn't there be any kind of limitation on minors' access to social networks, which, in addition to positive contributions, also have negative ones, especially for users who have not yet reached adulthood and are still developing?
In this context, a trial that has begun and affects Meta, one of Silicon Valley's tech giants, gains importance. The company founded by Mark Zuckerberg, which controls Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is facing a historic legal process in Oakland, California, where its future is at stake. Colorado, California, New Jersey, and Kentucky are heading a coalition of 29 states, which accuse it of deliberately fueling social media addiction in millions of children and adolescents. It also accuses it of collecting data from minors without parental consent. The penalty hanging over this class-action lawsuit could be a blow that could even lead the company to bankruptcy. The company estimates that it could be sued for more than 1.4 trillion dollars, the equivalent of its stock market value.
This new trial represents a major escalation compared to the blow the company recently received in New Mexico, where a judge ordered it to pay 567 million dollars to a youth mental health reparation fund, because its way of operating harms the health and safety of adolescents. The ruling was forceful: "Meta's platforms constitute a public nuisance because their purpose and effect are to maximize user interaction, even in ways that are detrimental to the health and safety of adolescents".
The current lawsuit accuses the multinational of introducing features and dynamics on its main platforms that generate addiction among children and adolescents. This fact is even more striking when reading an article from the New York Times that exposes how executives and leaders of these large multinationals try to limit and distance their children from these networks as much as possible, while promoting their use for the rest of society, including minors.
The outcome of this trial could provide many clues about the future evolution of regulation, at a time when the European Union is analyzing formulas to limit minors' access to social networks. Tech companies – and Meta in particular – assure that they offer "young people safe and valuable online experiences." And they forcefully state that "Meta is being unfairly penalized for challenges that the entire industry faces, such as age verification."
We must await the ruling that will give us signals about the possibilities of regulating the relationship between minors and adolescents and social networks, and the role that providers of these services should play. The EU is working on it, but we need to know how the issue will end in the country to which the companies belong.
