OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) 鈥� Opening statements started Tuesday in a in a California federal court, where states are seeking billions of dollars in damages for social media harms to children.
Attorneys general from California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey are seeking a financial penalty that could, in theory, total as much as $1.4 trillion plus changes to how the company operates Facebook and Instagram. Twenty-nine states in 2023 over child safety and privacy 鈥� the other 25 will go to trial later. The company also in state courts.
The lawsuit accuses the social media giant of contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly and deliberately designing features that to its platforms. It also argues that Meta routinely collects data on children under 13 without their parents鈥� consent, in violation of federal law.
Megan O鈥橬eill, a deputy attorney general for the California Department of Justice, laid out the states’ case for jurors during opening statements in federal court in Oakland, California.
鈥淵ou’re going to hear that Meta knew a lot about kids’ brains,鈥� O’Neill said. This includes how they are constantly seeking rewards, how they are sensitive to social feedback and 鈥渉ow they are still developing their ability to control impulses the way adults do.鈥�
Meta, she said, researched these vulnerabilities and talked about how it could change Instagram to respond to them.
鈥溾�楾he young ones are the best ones鈥� is a title of a Meta study we are going to show you,鈥� she said, telling jurors that for Meta, 鈥渒ids are the product.鈥�
Meta has repeatedly said it believes it has a strong case.
鈥淲e are proud of our record in protecting teens on our platforms and the amount of effort that we鈥檝e put into developing protections over the years, even before these cases were ever filed, and continuing to the present day. We look forward to showing the judge and the jury those facts in court,鈥� the company said in a written statement.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland is overseeing the proceedings, which are expected to last six weeks with testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives and former employees. Gonzalez Rogers, appointed to the bench by President Barack Obama in 2011, has overseen a bevy of complex, high-profile cases involving Big Tech. These include and its founders as well as over its app store.
If Meta loses the trial, the court would have wide discretion over the size of any financial penalty, and legal experts say anything close to $1.4 trillion would be unlikely.
鈥淭his case is not about any individual person or kid,鈥� O’Neill said. Rather, she said, it’s a law enforcement action designed to hold Meta responsible.
The trial is the latest in an against Meta Platforms and other social media companies including Google鈥檚 YouTube, TikTok and Snap, over arguments that their platforms harm young people, illegally collect their data and are deliberately designed to addict them.
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AP Technology Writer Kaitlyn Huamani contributed to this story from Los Angeles.
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