Meta hooked children and misled public: prosecutors

Meta Platforms is on trial in Oakland, facing accusations that it knowingly hooked and exploited children by designing Instagram and Facebook to be addictive. Prosecutors argue that the social media giant deliberately engineered its platforms to exploit how children's brains work, a strategy they claim was built to "hook the users, hold them for as long as they can, harvest their data, and then hide the truth from the public."

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exploited how kids' brains work

This landmark case, likened by experts to social media's "big tobacco moment," involves a coalition of states demanding Meta pay $200 billion in penalties. They contend that the company used technology specifically designed to foster addiction among young users, mirroring tactics once employed by the tobacco industry. Meta's defense lawyer acknowledged some users were harmed but asserted the company developed tools to assist them.

Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri are expected to testify. Outside the courthouse, activists, including mothers whose children allegedly died due to social media use, rallied. One mother, Lori Schott, directly addressed Zuckerberg and Mosseri, stating that immense power does not excuse the harm caused by their company.

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tried to come up with tools to help them

This is the first federal trial of its kind, potentially paving the way for numerous lawsuits against other platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube. These suits, brought by families, educators, and state governments, charge tech companies with harming young people's mental health. The states are seeking not only financial penalties but also mandated changes to Meta's apps to protect young users, such as screen time limits. California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey are representing a coalition of 29 states that initially sued Meta in 2023.

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built one of those most powerful and richest companies in the world ... But power does not excuse harm.