Jury selection begins in Meta youth harms trial in California federal court

Jury selection commenced on Wednesday in Meta's federal lawsuit, alleging that the company's platforms have harmed youth mental health and illegally track children, according to a report by the Associated Press. The trial, set to commence the following week, is expected to span six to eight weeks. Meta faces 29 states in the multidistrict lawsuit, filed in 2023, but the Oakland trial will encompass only the initial four states - California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey.

A total of eight states, including Tennessee, have initiated similar lawsuits in their respective state courts.

The 2023 federal lawsuit contends that Meta unlawfully gathers data from children under 13 without parental consent, contravening federal law. The complaint asserts that Meta employs cutting-edge technologies to attract, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens, driven by profit motives and seeking to maximize financial gains.

The lawsuit further alleges that Meta has persistently misled the public about the significant dangers posed by its social media platforms, concealing the ways in which these platforms exploit and manipulate its most vulnerable consumers - teenagers and children.

Meta is embroiled in one of numerous legal battles against the company and other social media giants, such as Google's YouTube, TikTok, and Snap, over allegations that their platforms harm young users, unlawfully collect their data, and are purposefully designed to addict them. Recently, a New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $567 million to address harms inflicted upon young people from its platforms during the second phase of a significant trial.

This penalty is supplementary to the $375 million in civil penalties ordered against Meta in March following a determination that the company knowingly caused harm to children's mental health and concealed pertinent information about child sexual exploitation on its platforms.