States take Meta to trial in California in the biggest fight yet over social media harms to children
- A federal trial against Meta began in Oakland, California, in a case brought by multiple states over alleged harms to children on Facebook and Instagram.
- The lawsuit accuses Meta of designing features that knowingly and deliberately make children addicted to its platforms and of collecting data on children under 13 without parental consent.
- The plaintiffs are seeking financial damages that could theoretically total as much as $1.4 trillion, along with changes to how Meta operates its platforms.
- California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey are the states currently going to trial, while 25 other states are expected to have later trials.
- Meta denies the allegations and says the evidence will show its efforts to support young people.
Meta is facing trial in federal court in Oakland, California, in a lawsuit brought by states that accuse the company of contributing to a youth mental health crisis through Facebook and Instagram. The case, filed three years ago, is being treated as one of the most consequential legal challenges the company has faced over child safety.
The states say Meta deliberately built products to keep children engaged and addicted, and that it collected data on children under 13 without parental consent. They are seeking damages that could theoretically reach $1.4 trillion, as well as structural changes to Meta’s business. That scale makes the case a potential negative for Meta shares, because it increases legal and financial uncertainty around the company.
Meta denies the allegations and says it has worked with parents, experts and law enforcement to address youth safety concerns. The company argues the damages sought are far beyond anything supported by the claims. If the states prevail, the judge would still have broad discretion over any penalty, and legal experts quoted in the report said a penalty anywhere near the maximum is unlikely.
各州在加州起诉Meta，展开迄今最大规模的社交媒体伤害儿童诉讼
Meta在加州奥克兰的联邦法院接受审理。多州政府提起这起诉讼，指控该公司通过Facebook和Instagram对青少年心理健康造成影响。该案是在三年前提起的，被视为Meta在儿童安全问题上面临的最重要法律挑战之一。
原告称，Meta有意设计产品功能以吸引并让儿童沉迷，同时还在未获得父母同意的情况下收集13岁以下儿童的数据。原告寻求的赔偿理论上最高可达1.4万亿美元，并要求Meta改变平台运营方式。由于赔偿和合规风险极大，这起诉讼对Meta股价构成潜在利空。
Meta否认这些指控，称公司一直与家长、专家和执法部门合作处理青少年安全问题，并认为原告提出的赔偿额远超指控所能支持的范围。即便原告胜诉，法官对最终罚金仍有较大裁量空间；报道引述的法律专家也认为，接近最高索赔额的判罚不太可能出现。