Opening statements began Tuesday in a federal court in Oakland, California, where 29 U.S. states accuse Meta of designing Facebook and Instagram in ways that keep children hooked.
DR reports that the trial against the tech company behind Facebook and Instagram opened on Tuesday. The states accuse Meta of breaching children’s privacy rights and of building platforms that hold young users in place.
According to DR, the states want Meta to change central features on Instagram and Facebook, including like counts and infinite scroll. Ruben Toft Sindahl, a legal analyst at Kongressen.com, told DR the issue has grown so large that everyone can see it is a problem. He said the case carries particular weight because so many states stand behind it.
Reuters reports that the lawsuit was filed in 2023 by 29 state attorneys general. The Hill notes that this trial phase covers four lead states, California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey, with the remaining 25 states going to trial later.
The proceedings are overseen by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the Northern District of California, per Reuters, which reports the trial is expected to last around seven weeks. Reuters has also reported that a Meta court filing put the penalties sought by the four lead states at up to about $1.4 trillion. Other outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, describe the claim more broadly as multibillion dollar damages.
The allegations
The California Attorney General’s Office states that the case alleges Meta designed and deployed harmful features driving excessive use by children and teenagers. It further alleges the company collected personal data from children under 13 without parental consent, in violation of the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, and breached California’s False Advertising Law and Unfair Competition Law.
Connecticut’s Attorney General’s Office said in a statement at the start of the trial that the states allege Meta exploited young users’ vulnerabilities and deceived parents and the public about the harms.
Outside the courthouse, parents who blame social media for their children’s deaths gathered with a banner listing names, as reported by DR and ABC7 News. One of them, Mary Rodee, is the mother of Rylie Bashford, who took his own life at 16 after contact with an adult criminal posing as a young woman on Facebook. She said she considers his death a predictable consequence of a system that protects companies instead of children.
The case reached trial after the court rejected Meta’s attempt to have the claims dismissed, according to the California Attorney General’s Office. The same office states that an appeals court dismissed Meta’s Section 230 appeal and denied its bid to halt proceedings. Reuters reports that jury selection began on August 12, 2026.
DR notes that a long line of similar cases awaits Meta regardless of the outcome in California. Earlier this year, a court in New Mexico ordered the company to pay $942 million over claims it misled users about child safety on its platforms.
