A court has heard claims that Meta intentionally designed Facebook and Instagram to be addictive for young people. A jury in Oakland, California, will spend the next six weeks hearing arguments from attorneys representing several U.S. states and lawyers for the social media company.
A California lawyer said Tuesday that Meta found “millions” of 11- and 12-year-olds were using Instagram and “did little to keep them off” the platform. Meta’s representative, meanwhile, said the company had identified only 100,000 users in that age group and argued that social media addiction “does not exist.”
The California lawyer said Meta knew its platforms could harm teen mental health, while Meta argued that the states were overlooking the number of teenagers who had positive experiences on its platforms.
The trial stems from a 2023 lawsuit filed by 29 U.S. states, which alleged that Meta violated federal and state laws protecting children’s privacy.
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The states are seeking billions of dollars from Meta, and demanding it make changes to its platform, including ending “like” counts and infinite scroll.
In her opening arguments Megan O’Neill, a lead attorney for California, relied heavily on information found in millions of documents provided in the case from Meta. They included internal research, employee emails, and chat logs that went all the way up to Zuckerberg. One piece of internal research on Instagram stated: “Teens have an addict’s narrative about use.”
O’Neill also pointed the jury to the fact that Meta found “product features designed to increase time spent are inherently at odds with well-being and take away from people’s ability to focus on activity that adds value to their lives.” She also argued that despite the company’s awareness of potential negative effects, Meta targeted young people as users of Facebook and Instagram.
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Meta, she said, went out of its way to “assure the public that its platforms were safe for kids.”
Meta’s lawyer Paul Schmidt told the court there was “no dispute” that some social media users face struggles, but that research showed no clear link between adolescents’ social media use and a lack of wellbeing. He also said Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s cofounder and CEO, shared the company’s desire to improve its services, and not make them dangerous.
“They don’t believe they’re going to do well if people don’t like their service,” Schmidt said.
If Judge Rogers finds Meta liable, she could impose civil penalties and order changes to Facebook and Instagram.
This comes as social media companies are facing increasing scrutiny for enabling addiction. Previously, a panel in Los Angeles ordered Meta and Google to pay $3 million to a 20-year-old woman who accused the tech giants of making her addicted to Instagram and YouTube as a child, as part of a separate lawsuit.