Landmark trial on Meta’s impact on children’s mental health begins in US

Case follows whistleblower’s 2021 claims about Meta’s profit-driven disregard for youth mental health and user safety.Opening statements in a landmark US case brought by a bipartisan coalition of 29 states against Meta – the parent company of Facebook and Instagram – began on Tuesday, with Colorado, California, New Jersey and Kentucky arguing that the company’s popular social media apps were designed in ways that harmed the mental health of young users.The trial, which is expected to last several weeks, began in a US federal court in California before District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. While there is an eight-person jury, the group is serving in an advisory role as Judge Rogers will ultimately decide the case.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Trump’s approval rating sinks to new low at 33 percentlist 2 of 4Canada battles the clock, politics in scramble to avert Trump’s tariffslist 3 of 4Disney sues US regulator, claiming political retaliation over ABC stationslist 4 of 4Iran prepares to keep economy alive as US threatens further sanctionsend of listMegan O’Neill, a deputy California attorney general, in her opening statement said that the company designed its products to “hook the users, hold them for as long as they can, harvest their data, and then hide the truth from the public”.She added that it worked “especially well for kids”.The lawsuit, which was first filed in 2023, alleges that Meta made decisions to design its apps to hook users and facilitate excessive use among the platforms’ youngest users. The coalition also alleges that the company collected data on children under the age of 13 in violation of federal law.“Meta needed kids, and it needed to reassure the people who cared about those kids that the kids are safe,” O’Neill said.‘Limited claims’Meta has long pushed back on allegations against the Silicon Valley social media behemoth.In a statement before the trial, a Meta spokesperson said the states’ claims are unsubstantiated, and the company stands by its record of creating strong protections for teenagers, including launching Instagram Teen Accounts in 2024, which limit who can contact underage users, as well as a feature that allows parents to set time limits on usage.