{
  "id": 1788148,
  "title": "Meta rejects allegations it sought to hook children as landmark trial begins",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/meta-rejects-allegations-it-sought-to-hook-children-as-landmark-trial",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-18T19:57:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Economic Times Tech",
    "slug": "economic-times-tech",
    "url": "https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/meta-rejects-allegations-it-sought-to-hook-children-as-landmark-trial-begins/articleshow/133331975.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A group of 29 U.S. states has initiated a landmark trial against Meta Platforms, accusing the company of intentionally designing Facebook and Instagram to addict children and generate profit, potentially resulting in billions of dollars in penalties. The trial, which commenced on Tuesday in an Oakland, California federal court, will examine claims that Meta violated federal law by improperly collecting and using the personal data of underage users. U.S. Deputy Attorney General Megan O'Neill stated that Meta's objective was to \"hook the users, hold them for as long as they can, harvest their data, and then hide the truth from the public.\" However, Meta's lawyer, Paul Schmidt, maintains that while some users struggle from social media use, there is no clear link between social media and poor well-being. The judge could order changes to Facebook and Instagram if Meta is found liable, potentially imposing penalties as high as $1.4 trillion.",
  "summary": "Four lead states - California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey - accuse Meta of designing Facebook and Instagram to hook young users, fueling anxiety, depression and even suicide, and misleading consumers about the platforms' safety.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Fast Company",
        "title": "Meta stock sinks as landmark social media addiction trial gets underway. What’s at stake for the tech giant?",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/meta-stock-sinks-as-landmark-social-media-addiction-trial-gets",
        "published": "2026-08-18T12:23:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}