Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, is set to appear in a US jury trial this week in a case brought by 29 states accusing the company of engineering its platforms to keep young users addicted while concealing the mental health risks. The states are seeking billions of dollars in damages and demanding sweeping changes to how the social media services operate for minors.
The lawsuit, filed in 2023, alleges violations of federal and state child privacy laws. The attorneys general contend that Meta deliberately targeted young users, prioritizing engagement and profit — the company is valued at roughly $1.5 trillion on the stock market — over the well-being of children. Among the changes they want Meta to adopt are ending “like” counts, removing infinite scroll, stopping autoplay video, eliminating ephemeral posts such as Stories, requiring parental verification for teens, and restricting appearance-altering filters.
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, one of the plaintiffs, said the case would show that Meta “concealed what it knew about the harm its products cause young people because looking away was more profitable.” He drew parallels to past legal actions against the tobacco industry and opioid manufacturers, framing the suit as an effort to hold a major corporation accountable for public harm.
Meta has denied the allegations. “We strongly disagree with these allegations and are confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people,” a company spokeswoman said.
The trial comes on the heels of a separate ruling in New Mexico, where a judge fined Meta a collective $942 million and ordered similar changes for users under 18, including banning like counts, prohibiting teens from sending or receiving nude images, and limiting push notifications to certain hours. That judge also declared Meta a “public nuisance.” The company has said it will appeal.
Some observers remain skeptical that even a broad victory will shift Meta’s internal decision-making. Kelly Stonelake, a former Meta executive turned whistleblower and child-safety advocate, told the BBC she questions whether the company’s leadership will change course given what she described as a need for “cognitive dissonance” to justify decisions harming vulnerable people.
The case also highlights the emotional toll on young users. A young woman named Kaley, who previously won her own lawsuit against Meta, testified that as a nine-year-old she created dozens of accounts on Instagram and YouTube in order to “like” her own posts, seeking validation. She said she felt depressed and was later diagnosed with depression at age ten.
The 29 states involved represent nearly two-thirds of the US population. If Meta loses, the court could force the company to implement changes nationwide, fundamentally reshaping the social media experience for millions of young Americans.