Meta heads to trial over alleged social media addiction, risks to children

Social media giant Meta is heading to court in a case brought by a group of state attorneys general who claim the company designed its social media platforms to be addictive and misled the public about potential risks. The trial is expected to begin with opening statements on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland after the two sides went through the jury selection process last week and Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers turned down Meta's request for the case to be dismissed. The trial is expected to last four to six weeks, with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expected to testify.

Attorneys general from California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey first filed the lawsuit in 2023 after a multistate investigation into the impact of Facebook and Instagram on young users. They argue that the platforms were designed to be addictive and that the company downplayed the potential impact on young people, while also alleging Meta violated federal law when it collected personal information from children.

Meta, which is the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has denied wrongdoing and disputes claims that its social media platforms caused the harm alleged by states. It also argues that "social media addiction" isn't an officially recognized psychiatric diagnosis, which will be a significant point of contention at trial.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a statement last week after the court allowed the case to proceed, saying, "Meta designed a dangerous product for young users, knew it to be dangerous, and then lied to children, families, and the community about how dangerous it was."

A Meta spokesperson pushed back on the states' case against the company and said in a statement to FOX Business that the "limited claims are unsubstantiated and their financial demands are vastly disproportionate."

Meta has argued that the damages sought by the state attorneys general could reach as high as $1.4 trillion , which is nearly the size of the company's market capitalization – though the AGs haven't disclosed the amount they plan to seek at trial and will likely do so once the trial begins.

Monte Mann, a partner at Armstrong Teasdale, told FOX Business in an interview that this will be a " bellwether case " for the theory that social media platforms were designed to be addictive and have harmful effects on young users. Mann said that as someone who has tried cases like this one, he will be paying close attention to what internal Meta documents indicate about the company's knowledge of the allegedly compulsive nature of its products and their mental health impact, saying those documents "may be the star witness in the case."