US: Meta hooked children, prosecutors say, as trial over social media harm begins

Four US states have taken Meta to court, accusing the social media giant of deliberately making Facebook and Instagram addictive for children. Meta has denied the charges.

Aug 18 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms META.O rejected accusations by U.S. states that it intentionally sought to addict children to its Facebook and Instagram platforms in pursuit of profit, at the start of a trial that could reshape some of the most popular apps on the planet.

Meta Platforms rejected accusations by U.S. states that it intentionally sought to addict children to its Facebook and Instagram platforms in pursuit of profit as a trial that could reshape some of the most popular apps on the planet got underway Tuesday.

Four states are seeking billions of dollars in damages and structural changes to how Meta operates

Lawyers representing 29 US states on Tuesday accused Meta of hiding internal research that allegedly found Instagram could be addictive for teenagers, The Guardian reported.The allegations were made as a major legal battle against Meta began in a federal court in Oakland, California. The trial is expected to continue f

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

The lawsuit alleges Meta harmed children’s mental health and misled users.

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.

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.

Case follows whistleblower’s 2021 claims about Meta’s profit-driven disregard for young people’s mental health and user safety.

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

Twenty-nine US states are seeking huge damages, claiming Meta’s platforms were addictive by design In 1994, more than 40 US states came together to sue one of the most powerful industries on earth: big tobacco. The suits brought together diverse claims centred on tobacco companies’ misleading advertising and contributi

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

Meta faces making major changes to how children use social media platforms should it lose a lawsuit brought by more than half of US states - the company denies allegations against it

Lawsuit is one of many accusing social media companies of designing platforms that harm young people

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.

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 (Aug 18) in California federal court in a trial that could reshape some of the most popular apps on the planet.Attorneys for Colorado, Californ

In addition to seeking an order requiring Meta to restrict younger users on its platforms, the states seek to force the company to remove allegedly addictive features like infinite scroll and its content recommendation systems.

The attorneys general of 29 states are seeking not only massive financial penalties, but also court orders that could force Meta to change how it operates its platforms.

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.

Attorney Peter Elikann calls the Lindsay Clancy murder trial a cultural obsession as TikTokers and social media sleuths dissect the controversial case.