{
  "id": 1831586,
  "title": "Meta goes on trial, accused of getting kids addicted",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/meta-goes-on-trial-accused-of-getting-kids-addicted",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-18T23:44:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "RTHK News - Finance",
    "slug": "rthk-news-finance",
    "url": "https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1866665-20260819.htm"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Meta is currently facing a trial over allegations that its social media platforms may be contributing to the mental health crisis among young people. The company, which is the parent organization of Instagram and Facebook, is arguing that it is committed to keeping children safe on its platforms. A federal court in California began the trial on Tuesday, with four states seeking billions of dollars in damages as well as changes to the way Meta operates its platforms. The lawsuit accuses Meta of intentionally designing its apps to be addictive to children and of collecting data on minors without parental consent, which violates federal law.\n\nCalifornia, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey are among the 29 states that have sued Meta in 2023 over child safety and privacy. The other 25 states will have their trials later. The company has also faced lawsuits in state courts, including one currently ongoing in Tennessee. The lawsuit claims that Meta knowingly and deliberately designed features that hook children on its platforms while concealing these harms from the public. Furthermore, it asserts that Meta routinely collects data on children under 13 without their parents' knowledge, which is a violation of federal law.\n\nDuring the opening statements in federal court in Oakland, California, Deputy Attorney General Megan O'Neill outlined the states' case for the eight jurors. She stated that jurors will hear that Meta is well aware of the vulnerabilities of young people's brains, including their constant pursuit of rewards, sensitivity to social feedback, and underdeveloped impulse control compared to adults. O'Neill emphasized that Meta's research on these vulnerabilities and ideas on how to modify Instagram to exploit them were discovered in a study titled \"The Young Ones Are the Best Ones.\" She further stated that Meta knew, despite the ban, that children under 13 were using its products and failed to take basic steps to keep them off. For example, O'Neill explained that when Meta identified an account on Facebook belonging to someone under 13, it disabled the account but left their connected Instagram account active.\n\nFormer Meta executive Arturo Béjar, who worked on safety issues at Facebook from 2009 to 2015 and later as a contractor from 2019 to 2021, testified as the first witness. Béjar disputed Meta's claims that its safety research was used to improve the products. He argued that Meta's engineers had good ideas for preventing exposure to harmful content like eating disorder material but ultimately downplayed their significance. Meta's lawyer, Paul Schmidt, presented the company's defense by first acknowledging that children under 13 should not access the apps, some teenagers struggle to manage their time, and some post negative content. However, Schmidt focused on the safety improvements Meta has made and the information it shares with the public. He emphasized the company's efforts to improve safety while disagreeing with the government's approach. The trial is expected to last six weeks, with testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives and former employees. If Meta loses the trial, the court could impose a substantial financial penalty, although legal experts doubt it would reach a figure as high as $1.4 trillion.",
  "summary": "Meta is once again on trial over dangers its platforms may pose to children. It is once again arguing that it works tirelessly to keep them safe. A pivotal trial for the parent company of Instagram and Facebook kicked off in a California federal court on Tuesday, with four states seeking billions of dollars in damages as well as fundamental changes to how Meta runs its platforms. A jury will…",
  "key_points": [
    "Meta faces trial over alleged addiction of children to social media.",
    "Four states sue Meta for billions in damages and platform changes.",
    "Allegations include exploiting children's vulnerabilities and data collection without consent."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "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."
}