US states drag Meta to trial over child safety on social media
‘We did it with the tobacco settlement…we did it with the companies behind the opioid crisis. We'll do it again with Meta,’ Kentucky AG Russell Coleman said. Read more: US states drag Meta to trial over child safety on social media
A trial against Meta Platforms began in California federal court on Tuesday, August 18. The company is being sued by a coalition of 29 US states, led by Colorado, California, New Jersey, and Kentucky. The states claim that Meta designed Facebook and Instagram to be addictive to children and teens, and misled consumers about the safety of the platforms for young users.
The states also accuse Meta of improperly collecting and using children's personal data while they used the company's platforms, in violation of federal law. According to Kentucky AG Russell Coleman, the states are determined to hold Meta accountable, citing previous successful cases against tobacco and opioid companies.
Meta's attorneys argue that the company has made significant efforts to keep kids safe online and that the states have failed to present evidence of actual harm to their residents. The trial will be decided by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, with an eight-person jury serving in an advisory capacity. If the states succeed, Meta could face massive penalties and changes to how it operates Instagram and Facebook.
Brief written by urgent.news from Silicon Republic, CNA - Business, Business of Fashion, CBC News, CBC Business — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
