Meta targeted children to boost Facebook, Instagram use, lawyer says
OAKLAND — Meta Platforms intentionally sought to addict children to its Facebook and Instagram platforms, a lawyer for California said on Tuesday at the start of a trial that could reshape some of the most popular apps on the planet. A bipartisan group of 29 U.S. states is suing Meta, seeking potentially tens or hundreds of billions of dollars in penalties and changes to how Meta does business.…
OAKLAND — A lawyer for California argued on Tuesday that Meta Platforms deliberately sought to addict children to its Facebook and Instagram platforms, potentially setting the stage for a trial that could redefine the operations of the world's most popular social media apps. The lawsuit, initiated by a coalition of 29 U.S. states, seeks billions of dollars in penalties and reforms for Meta's business practices.
The four states leading the charge — California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey — accuse Meta of deliberately designing Facebook and Instagram to captivate young users, resulting in anxiety, depression, and even suicide, while also misleading consumers about the platforms' safety. Jurors will examine allegations from all 29 states, including California's deputy attorney general Megan O'Neill, who warned the eight-person jury in Oakland, California, that Meta's business strategy involved "hooking the users, holding them for as long as they can, harvesting their data, and then hiding the truth from the public."
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