The United States has launched one of the largest legal cases in the history of the tech industry. The lawsuit was filed in 2023 by 29 states, including California and New York, which claim that Meta repeatedly violated federal and state laws protecting children's privacy. The trial itself is expected to last about six weeks. In addition to demanding billions of dollars in damages, the plaintiffs are seeking changes to several features in Facebook and Instagram — specifically, the removal of the 'Like' button and the infinite scroll mechanism, which they believe artificially keep users glued to their screens.
The Prosecution: Meta's Internal Documentation
Presenting the states' case, California's lead attorney Megan O'Neill relied on numerous internal research documents, employee emails, and the company's chat logs. According to her, these materials show that Meta was fully aware of Instagram's negative impact on teenagers but continued to attract young users and make false claims about the platform's safety. The company's business model is accused of deliberately creating addiction in order to keep users engaged for as long as possible and harvest their data. Meta's own internal documents, cited by the prosecution, indicate that one in five teenagers admits that Instagram worsens their well-being, and that teens describe their habit of using the platform as something akin to an addiction.
The Company's Response: Surveys Are Incomplete, 'Addiction' Not Proven
In response to the accusations, Paul Schmidt, the attorney representing Meta, stated that the internal research cited by the prosecution is incomplete. He emphasized that the same survey showed that if one in five teenagers feels worse because of Instagram, then 41% feel better, and another 41% rated the platform's impact as neutral. As for users under 13, Meta stated that the actual number of identified cases was just over 100,000, not millions as California claims. According to the company, age verification faces obstacles due to data protection rules that limit the collection of information. Citing the positions of board chairman Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri, Meta's representatives stressed that current scientific research has not proven the existence of a 'social media addiction.' Denying the deliberate creation of an addictive product, the company acknowledged that some people find it hard to control their screen time and stated that it had launched the corresponding tools in advance.
Contradictory Data
There are several significant discrepancies in the figures between the two sides. First, the state of California claims that Meta discovered millions of 11- and 12-year-old children using Instagram but took virtually no action to stop this; meanwhile, Meta insists that the actual number of identified cases of users under 13 was just over 100,000. Second, the prosecution emphasizes that one in five teenagers admits to feeling worse because of the platform, while Meta points out that in the same survey 41% of teenagers feel better and 41% feel neutral. These discrepancies will be a key point of contention throughout the six-week trial.
What Is at Stake
The outcome of the case could set a precedent for the regulation of social networks across all 50 states. If the court grants the plaintiffs' demands, Meta will face not only multi-billion-dollar fines but also a forced overhaul of the core mechanics of Facebook and Instagram — from the 'Like' button to the infinite feed. For the entire industry, this will be a signal that companies' internal data is increasingly being used against them in court, and that the argument 'the scientific basis is insufficient' is no longer an unconditional shield against accusations of creating an addictive product.
