Meta is heading to trial in California in one of the most consequential legal challenges yet over the way Facebook and Instagram are designed for children and teenagers. A bipartisan coalition of US states alleges that the company built features that encouraged compulsive use among young people while failing to accurately represent the risks associated with its platforms.
The proceedings begin Tuesday in federal court in Oakland. California, Colorado, New Jersey and Kentucky are taking the lead for a broader coalition of 29 states. An eight-person jury will hear the case, although its role is advisory. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will ultimately determine the outcome.
At the center of the dispute is whether Meta deliberately designed Facebook and Instagram in ways that encouraged children and teenagers to spend excessive amounts of time using the services. The four lead states also accuse the company of misleading consumers about the safety of its platforms for younger users.
A separate element of the case extends across all 29 states. They allege that Meta improperly collected and used personal information belonging to children, violating federal protections governing children’s online data. These allegations put both platform design and Meta’s handling of younger users’ information under scrutiny.
Meta rejects the states’ characterization of its products. The company argues that it has invested substantially in protections for teenagers and disputes allegations that it misrepresented the safety of Facebook or Instagram. It also maintains that the states have failed to demonstrate actual harm suffered by their residents.
The trial is expected to bring senior Meta executives directly into the proceedings. CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram chief Adam Mosseri are both expected to testify during a case scheduled to run for several weeks.
The financial stakes could be enormous, although the final amount being sought remains unsettled. Meta has warned that potential penalties could theoretically reach approximately $1.4 trillion. The attorneys general have not formally specified their requested penalties, but indicated during a recent hearing that the figure could instead be closer to $200 billion.
The states are seeking more than financial penalties. The attorneys general of California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey want the court to require significant changes to Meta’s platforms across the United States. Proposed measures include stronger age restrictions and removing infinite scrolling, a design that continuously supplies users with additional content.
Such an order could make the case important far beyond the states directly leading the litigation. If the court requires nationwide product changes, the outcome could influence how Facebook and Instagram operate for young users throughout the country.
The current lawsuit originated from a multistate investigation announced after former Meta employee Frances Haugen disclosed internal company documents and testified before Congress in 2021. Haugen alleged that Meta possessed internal evidence about potential harms associated with its products but did not adequately address those concerns. The company has disputed broader allegations that it prioritizes engagement over young people’s safety.
Internal Meta material is expected to play an important role at trial. The states plan to introduce company documents and research while calling former employees and outside specialists as witnesses. Meta will have the opportunity to challenge both the interpretation of that material and the states’ claims about how individual platform features affect younger users.