Meta is set to defend itself in a major US trial beginning in California on allegations that it deliberately designed Facebook and Instagram to be addictive to children and violated state and federal laws.
A coalition of US states filed the lawsuit against Meta in 2023. Four states, California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey, have been selected to represent the wider coalition at the trial.
The states are expected to argue that Meta prioritised user growth and engagement over child safety and that the company misrepresented what it knew about risks associated with its platforms.
The case could have major financial and regulatory consequences for Meta, which has more than three billion users worldwide. The states are seeking financial penalties as well as changes to the way the company operates its social media applications.
Meta has strongly rejected the allegations.
The trial has already produced a series of disputes over evidence and witnesses. Federal Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers recently rejected Meta’s attempt to prevent former company employee and expert witness Arturo Bejar from testifying.
In her ruling, Rogers described Meta’s request as a “Hail Mary” effort to eliminate an important witness for the states.
Bejar has previously given evidence against Meta, including during a New Mexico case that the company lost. Lawyers representing the states are expected to question him about Meta’s safety practices, business growth objectives and whether the company publicly provided misleading information about what it knew.
Meta has also asked the court to restrict the testimony of another potential expert, Colin Gray. The states plan to question Gray about so-called “dark patterns”, digital features designed to influence users into making choices that benefit a technology company.
Meta founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is among the high-profile witnesses expected to appear during the proceedings.
The financial stakes have been a source of disagreement. A lawyer for the states said last week that they are seeking about $200 billion in penalties and rejected Meta’s suggestion that the potential amount could exceed $1 trillion.
The states are also seeking changes to Meta’s apps and business practices.
Eight people were selected last week to serve on an advisory jury, although Judge Rogers will make the final decision in the case. The trial is expected to last around six weeks, with a verdict anticipated by early October.
Legal experts say the case could become one of the most important US efforts to hold a major social media company responsible for alleged harms linked to its products.
Stanford law professor Nora Freeman Engstrom said the proceedings could mark the beginning of a wider examination of Meta’s business practices, particularly the difference between what the company knew internally and what it disclosed publicly.
Other experts have compared the case with litigation against tobacco companies in the 1990s. Those lawsuits resulted in a major 1998 settlement involving financial payments and restrictions on tobacco marketing.
The Meta case could similarly test whether a technology company can face extensive financial and operational consequences over the way its products are designed and marketed to young users.
