Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is headed to federal court to defend itself against claims brought by a coalition of 29 state attorneys general over youth social media addiction, calling the accusations that it misled users about app safety and harmed young people “unsubstantiated.”
ABC News reports that the trial will take place in federal court in Oakland, California. It stems from a lawsuit filed in October 2023 in the Northern District of California by a bipartisan coalition of 29 state attorneys general. Four states, California, Colorado, New Jersey and Kentucky, are arguing the case in federal court.
The lawsuit alleges Meta, the company behind Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook, has “harnessed powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens.” It cites features such as infinite scrolling and push notifications, alleging the apps were designed to keep young users on the platforms as long as possible. The suit also alleges Meta violated a federal online privacy law by “unlawfully collecting the personal data of its youngest users without their parents’ permission.”
Beyond financial penalties, the states are seeking changes to Meta’s apps for users under 18, including the removal of infinite scrolling, video auto-play and “like” counts.
Opening arguments are scheduled to start Tuesday, August 18. The trial is expected to last seven weeks. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri could be called to testify, though no schedule has been set.
In a statement Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who spearheaded the initial 2023 filing, said in part, “One of my most important jobs as Attorney General is to protect our children from harm. 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.”
“We are ready to hold Meta accountable for its role in fueling the mental health crisis of American children and look forward to trial,” he added.
Meta disputes the lawsuit’s allegations. In a statement provided to Breitbart News, a spokesperson wrote:
The State AGs may call this a landmark case, but their limited claims are unsubstantiated and their financial demands are vastly disproportionate. The AGs offer no proof anyone in their states was misled, claim benign features like having an additional Instagram account somehow harmed their residents, and attempt to penalize Meta for industry-wide challenges like age verification. Rather than sticking to the facts or the law, the states have instead decided to chase an outlandish payout. We stand by our record of creating strong protections for teens, and look forward to making our case in court.
The company said damages in the case could reach $1.4 trillion. “Rather than sticking to the facts or the law, the states have instead decided to chase an outlandish payout,” the spokesperson said. “We stand by our record of creating strong protections for teens, and look forward to making our case in court.”
The new trial begins less than a week after a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million and make changes to its apps, finding they contributed to a youth mental health crisis. Meta has said it will appeal that ruling.
Breitbart News previously reported that a landmark case in Los Angeles found Meta liable in a case of youth social media addiction:
In a precedent-setting verdict, jurors in the high profile social media addiction trial deliberated for more than 40 hours across nine days before determining that both Meta and YouTube were negligent in the design and operation of their platforms. The jury concluded that each company’s negligence was a substantial factor in causing harm to the plaintiff, a 20-year-old woman who testified that her childhood use of social media created an addiction to the technology and aggravated her mental health problems.
The multimillion-dollar award is expected to increase significantly, as jurors determined that the companies acted with malice or highly egregious conduct. This finding means the jury will soon hear additional evidence and return to deliberations to decide on punitive damages, which could substantially raise the total compensation.
Meta and Google-owned YouTube were the final two defendants remaining in the case after TikTok and Snap reached settlements before the trial commenced. The plaintiff, identified in court documents as KGM and referred to as Kaley by her legal team during proceedings, provided testimony alongside high-profile technology executives. Meta leaders Mark Zuckerberg and Adam Mosseri appeared as witnesses, while YouTube CEO Neal Mohan was not called to testify.
Read more at ABC News here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of AI, free speech, and online censorship.