{
  "id": 2537153,
  "title": "Hook, hold, harvest and hide: Meta’s alleged strategy laid out in first week of landmark trial",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/hook-hold-harvest-and-hide-metas-alleged-strategy-laid-out-in-first",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-22T08:00:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Business",
    "slug": "guardian-business",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/22/meta-trial-children-privacy"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the opening week of a landmark trial, California and 28 other US states accused the world's largest social media company, Meta, of employing a four-step strategy: hook, hold, harvest, and hide. According to Megan O'Neill, a lawyer representing the state of California, Meta's business model is designed to target children and extract data from them. On the first day of the trial in Oakland, California, eight jurors were introduced to the allegations made by O'Neill and attorneys for Meta, as well as testimony from former employees and a psychologist. The lawsuit centers around claims that Meta violated federal and state child privacy laws by collecting data from children under the age of 13 without parental consent. If found liable, Meta could face damages up to $200 billion, equivalent to its 2025 annual revenue. The company denies all allegations, with a spokesperson stating that the states are pursuing an \"outlandish payout.\" During the opening statements, Meta's attorney acknowledged that people can struggle with social media but emphasized that the company has implemented tools to address these issues. The trial, which is expected to last six to eight weeks, will also hear from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri.",
  "summary": "In trial that opened on Tuesday, California and 28 other states accused the company of designing addictive sites and violating laws protecting children’s privacy Meta’s business can be boiled down to four words that begin with the letter H: hook, hold, harvest, hide, according to a lawyer who is prosecuting the world’s largest social media company. The owner of Facebook and Instagram “hooks” in…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Guardian Technology",
        "title": "Hook, hold, harvest and hide: Meta’s alleged strategy laid out in first week of landmark trial",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/hook-hold-harvest-and-hide-metas-alleged-strategy-laid-out-in-first-2537295",
        "published": "2026-08-22T08:00:58.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}