The outcome of a landmark trial that begins on Aug. 18 over claims that Meta Platforms designed its products in ways that harm children has the potential to reshape some of the world's most popular apps, analysts said.
In the high-stakes case unfolding in Meta's home state of California, 29 attorneys general joined in a unified lawsuit alleging that Meta fostered addictive behavior in teens and children. Lawyers representing California, Colorado, New Jersey and Kentucky will argue that the Facebook and Instagram parent must be held accountable for violating federal and state laws, including the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, and various consumer protection statutes.
Consequences are potentially enormous, with reports of Meta
estimating penalties as high as $1.4 trillion, near the company’s market cap of $1.5 trillion. The attorneys general haven't specified what they are seeking in penalties, but said at a hearing last week that the amount could be closer to $200 billion.
“Nearly three years ago, we took action because we believed Meta was putting profits ahead of the health and safety of our kids. Now we are ready to present the evidence and make our case,” said Colorado Attorney General Weiser in a statement.
“Meta knew its platforms could harm young people, yet continued practices designed to keep them hooked – sacrificing sleep, being distracted in school, and even considering suicide – because more time online meant more money for Meta,'' the statement continued. "At a time when young people are facing a serious mental health crisis, that is unacceptable. Powerful technology companies must follow the law, and when they don’t, we will hold them accountable.”
Separately, Meta is also defending itself in Tennessee against allegations that its Instagram platform causes mental health harms to young users.
"Meta knew its platforms were hurting kids and made a very clear decision to choose money over the mental health of its young users,” Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a statement. “Tennessee law protects kids from companies, big or small, that mislead and hurt them, and we will continue to aggressively enforce that law.”
What will Meta's defense argue?
Meta has called the allegations in the California trial unsubstantiated and said it stands by its work to protect teen users of its platforms.
"We know parents worry about the safety of their teens online," the company said in a statement. "At Meta, we’re consistently making changes to provide teens with safe, protected experiences, and bring parents more peace of mind."
Meta pointed to establishing Teen Accounts with built-in protections that automatically limit who can contact teens younger than 16 and the content they see, as well as its use of AI to place people it suspects are teens into these protections, even if they say they’re adults.
But it admitted that "technology is evolving rapidly, which means we will need to constantly adapt and strengthen our protections for teens, while listening and responding to concerns parents have."
Meta founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify during the multiweek trial, as is Instagram head Adam Mosseri.
Will Meta win?
After losing a recent case in New Mexico that resulted in Meta being required to make some changes to its services and pay nearly $1 billion, a win for Meta may be less likely, analysts said.
"Meta isn’t well-positioned going into this week’s trial," said Emarketer senior analyst Minda Smiley.
"It’s getting harder to gauge how the company plans to untangle itself from the onslaught of lawsuits and scrutiny," she said. "And it doesn’t seem like the company is uniting around any sort of real vision for how it plans to alleviate concerns that don’t show signs of going away anytime soon. "
Medora Lee is a money, markets and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@usatoday.com and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Meta heads to court over claims it harms children
