Meta deliberately hooked children and misled public, prosecutors say

A federal court in Oakland heard evidence on Tuesday that Meta knowingly hooked and exploited children, alleging the social media giant designed Instagram and Facebook to be addictive to young users. In what experts liken to a "big tobacco moment," a coalition of states seeks to penalize Meta with around US$200 billion for designing products that are addictive to children.

These states, seeking redress where Congress failed to act, are intervening due to the public health implications and marketing to children, similar to landmark tobacco cases. Prosecutor Megan O'Neill described Meta's business model as one that intended to hook users, hold them for as long as possible, harvest their data, and hide the truth from the public.

Meta's lawyer, Paul Schmidt, admitted some users had negative experiences but argued the company attempted to provide tools to help them. Former Meta engineering director Arturo Bejar testified that the goal in Facebook's early years was to get things into users' hands as fast as possible, prioritizing speed over safety or security.

Days before the trial, Meta tried to block Bejar from testifying, a request the judge denied. This is the first federal trial in a series of lawsuits against social media companies, including TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube, which accuse the companies of harming the mental health of young people. Four states – California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey – represent a coalition of 29 states that sued Meta in 2023.

The charges include lying to the public about app dangers for minors, designing features to hook users, gathering data on children under 13 without parental consent, and violating federal law. The trial is expected to last six weeks, with a verdict by October. Meta faces reputational harm and potential changes to Facebook and Instagram, akin to the 1990s tobacco settlement that included financial penalties and marketing changes.