Meta accused of deceiving public, luring children in first federal trial

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is on trial in a federal court in Oakland, California, facing accusations that it deliberately harmed children by making its platforms addictive. Prosecutors opened the trial by alleging Meta "deceived" the public and "lured" young users by concealing the truth about the negative impacts of its services.

"Meta, one of the largest and most powerful companies in the world, conducted a campaign to deceive, to mislead its users, lawmakers, teachers, and parents," stated California Assistant Attorney General Megan O'Neill to the jury. The trial is expected to last until the end of September.

Meta's defense countered by asserting that the company has acknowledged issues with social media overuse and has actively sought to develop tools to assist users. The company's attorney pointed to various initiatives and features introduced between 2017 and 2024 aimed at managing usage. However, prosecutors dismissed these efforts as "tissue paper barriers," citing that only 0.2% of adolescents actually used features like "take a break."

This landmark federal trial involves four U.S. states, California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey, leading a coalition of 29 state attorneys general who have been pursuing Meta since 2023. They are seeking nearly $200 billion in penalties and a significant overhaul of Instagram and Facebook. The lawsuit accuses Meta of lying about the harms its apps pose to adolescents, designing features to keep users hooked, and illegally collecting data from children under 13 without parental consent.