Meta, 29 states head to court in biggest test yet of youth social media litigation<\/a><\/p>\nBefore the trial began, the company denied the allegations, insisting it had worked with parents, experts and law enforcement to incorporate safeguards for children.<\/p>\n
Former Meta engineering director Arturo Bejar testified that during Facebook\u2019s early years, \u201cthe goal was to be able to get things into the hands of users as fast as possible, which meant that a lot of the time, safety or security was an afterthought.\u201d<\/p>\n
Days before the trial, Meta attempted to block Bejar from testifying, a move which the judge denied.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Mothers rally \u2013<\/h2>\n
This is not the first case seeking to hold tech companies, including Meta, accountable for these types of issues, but it could become one of the most consequential if it forces Meta to make sweeping changes.<\/p>\n
Activists, including mothers of children they say were driven to suicide by their social media usage, rallied outside court.<\/p>\n
One mother, Lori Schott, called out Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri, saying they \u201cbuilt one of those most powerful and richest companies in the world\u2026 But power does not excuse harm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zuckerberg and Mosseri are among the star witnesses expected to testify, according to court documents.<\/p>\n
In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, California Attorney General Rob Bonta declined to confirm whether Zuckerberg would be called to the stand.<\/p>\n
\u2013 First of many? \u2013<\/h2>\n
This is the first federal trial in what is expected to be a tidal wave of lawsuits targeting social media companies, including TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube. Families, educators and state governments in the United States accuse the companies of harming the mental health of young people.<\/p>\n
Meta, which has more than three billion users worldwide, is the sole defendant in the Oakland case.<\/p>\n
In addition to financial penalties, the states are demanding changes to Meta\u2019s apps to protect young users, including limits to screen time.<\/p>\n
Four states \u2014 California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey \u2014 are representing a coalition of 29 states that first sued Meta in 2023.<\/p>\n
The charges are threefold: that Meta lied to the public about how dangerous its apps are for minors; designed some features specifically to get them hooked and keep them online, including screen-time-limiting ones that are easy to get around; and gathered data on children under age 13 without parental consent, in violation of federal law.<\/p>\n
The trial is expected to last around six weeks, with a verdict expected by October.<\/p>\n
For Meta, \u201cthe huge issue here is reputational harm\u201d and being forced to make major changes to Facebook and Instagram, Vincent Joralemon, a director at Berkeley\u2019s Life Sciences Law and Policy Center, told AFP.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really feels like tobacco in the 1990s,\u201d Joralemon said.<\/p>\n
While cases about social media harms revolve around the intersection of technology and addiction, the case against Meta focuses on its business practices, similar to when US regulators sued tobacco companies, Joralemon said.<\/p>\n
Dozens of US states sued four major tobacco companies for downplaying the harmful health impacts of their products, and won a 1998 landmark settlement that included financial penalties and changes to product marketing.<\/p>\n
Those tobacco companies have paid over $176 billion since, according to data from the National Association of Attorneys General.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
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