Meta hooked children on Facebook and Instagram, court hears

Meta argued social media addiction does not exist, as a trial stemming from a major lawsuit brought by US states got under way.

Meta rejects claims it sought to hook children to Facebook, Instagram as landmark trial begins  Reuters

An Oakland court heard that Meta “exploited how kids’ brains work” by making Instagram and Facebook addictive.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta built its apps to be addictive for kids and then lied to the public about health risks so it could rake in massive profits, a California prosecutor said as a historic federal trial kicked off Tuesday.

Deputy Attorney General Megan O'Neil said in her opening arguments in an Oakland courtroom that the company "exploited how kids' brains work".

It's the latest and biggest trial against a social media company with billions of dollars being sought in damages for alleged social media harms to young people.

Meta founder and chief Mark Zuckerberg is among the star witnesses expected to testify.

Meta Platforms intentionally sought to ⁠addict children to its Facebook and Instagram platforms, a lawyer for California said on Tuesday at the start of a trial that could reshape some of the most popular apps on the planet. A bipartisan group of 29 US states is suing Meta, seeking potentially tens or hundreds of billi

Group of 29 U.S. states seeking up to hundreds of billions of dollars in penalties and changes to the company’s social-media apps

A Meta spokesperson said the states’ claims are unsubstantiated

A coalition of states suing Meta Platforms over claims Facebook and Instagram were designed in ways that harmed young users’ mental health will begin making its case on Tuesday in California federal court in a trial that could reshape some of the most popular apps on the planet.

The European Court of Human Rights has dismissed the case, but the plaintiffs aren't giving up.

Meta has been hit with successive losses in court over how its platforms have targeted and harmed young users, but a jury trial set to begin on Tuesday may pose the biggest threat yet to its operations.