Meta faces one of the biggest legal challenges over the impact of social media on children and adolescents. A federal court in California began jury selection in the process that pits the parent company of Instagram and Facebook against a coalition of 29 states that accuses it of designing features to generate compulsive use among minors and of hiding the risks associated with its platforms.

The trial takes place in Oakland and has as its initial protagonists California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey, the four states that are carrying out this phase of the federal litigation. The process could last between six and eight weeks and represents one of the first major trials in the United States that seeks to determine whether a platform's design decisions can hold a company responsible for the harm its products cause among young users.

The lawsuit alleges that Meta created and implemented features intended to keep minors on Instagram and Facebook longer, despite knowing the potential negative effects on their health and well-being. The states also accuse the company of having deceived parents and consumers by minimizing the risks that its platforms could pose to children and adolescents.

"One of my most important duties as attorney general is to protect our children from harm. As our lawsuit alleges, Meta prioritizes profits over children's safety and consistently violates consumer protection laws," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said before the trial began.

A lawsuit that began in 2023

The case stems from a multi-state investigation that gained momentum after former Facebook employee Frances Haugen disclosed internal documents in 2021 about Meta's knowledge of the potential effects of its products on young users.

In October 2023, a coalition of attorneys general filed lawsuits against Meta. The federal accusation now coming to trial maintains that the company used design features and algorithms to increase the time and attention of minors on its platforms, while being aware of internal and external investigations that warned of problems related to the excessive use of social networks.

The states also argue that Meta violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting information from users under the age of 13 without obtaining the required consent from their parents. That legislation sets out specific obligations for online services that collect personal information from children.

In 2024, a federal judge rejected Meta's attempt to dismiss the case, allowing the lawsuit to move forward to trial.

The company suffered a setback again this week. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request to delay the start of the process. A day earlier, that same court allowed thousands of lawsuits against Meta, Google, TikTok and other companies to move forward after rejecting an attempt by the companies to obtain protection under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.

The company denies the allegations and maintains that it has worked for years to improve safety for teenagers. Meta claims the lawsuits mischaracterize its efforts to protect young users and that it has introduced monitoring tools and restrictions designed specifically for teenagers.

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