A landmark trial opened in Oakland, California, on Tuesday, with Meta facing accusations that it deliberately hooked a generation of children on Facebook and Instagram. The case, considered the biggest legal challenge to the social media platform, will see a jury spend six weeks examining claims from top attorneys of several US states and the company's defense.

California's lead attorney, Megan O'Neill, alleged that Meta found "millions" of 11- and 12-year-olds on Instagram and "did little to keep them off." Meta's representative countered that only about 100,000 such users were identified and argued that social media addiction does not exist.

The lawsuit, filed in 2023 by 29 states including California and New York, claims Meta violated federal and state child privacy laws. The states are seeking billions of dollars in damages and demanding changes to Instagram and Facebook, including ending "like" counts and infinite scroll.

During opening arguments, Paul Schmidt, Meta's lead attorney, addressed an internal research report that O'Neill presented to the jury, which found that "1 in 5 teens says Instagram makes them feel worse." Schmidt pointed out that the same report showed 41% of teens felt better and another 41% reported no effect. He also argued that privacy laws prevent Meta from verifying users' ages effectively.

O'Neill, however, relied on millions of documents from Meta, including internal research and emails, to argue that the company knew about the negative impacts but prioritized profits. "Meta said it put safety over profits, but hid the reality that, time and again, when it came to making a decision, profits won," she said.

The trial is one of several major legal battles Meta faces this year over its impact on young users' mental health.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk