'Meta intentionally hooked a generation of children', US court hears

The state of California versus Meta trial has heard that the social media giant found "millions" of 11 and 12-year-olds had accounts on Instagram, but "did little to keep them off." 

The trial is the result of a lawsuit filed in 2023 by 29 US states, including California and New York. 

The states are seeking billions from Meta as penalties for their alleged lack of action on the mental health effects on its platforms on minors.

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"Meta intentionally hooked a generation of children"

In opening arguments, lawyer Megan O'Neill for the states argued that Meta targeted young people for account on Facebook and Instagram, claiming it also “assured the public that its platforms were safe for kids”, the BBC reports.

O'Neill said the company's strategy was to: “Hook the users; hold them for as long as they can; harvest their data; hide the truth from the public when making public statements.”

She added, "Meta said it put safety over profits, but hid the reality that, time and again, when it came to make a decision, profits won."

Paul Schmidt for Meta rejected the information which O'Neill relied on, which stated "1 in 5 teens says Instagram makes them feel worse".

Schmidt said: "That sounds pretty bad."

"What else does the document say?" 

"That 41% of teens said it made them feel better and another 41% said it had no effect."

Schmidt also raised the issue with age-verification and argued that privacy laws prevented Meta from saving and using the data it needed to monitor underage accounts.

He finally conceded, “There can be no dispute that Meta has recognised people struggle, or can struggle, with their use of social media, and has come up with tools to try and address that.”

But overall, the argument from Meta going forward will be that social media addiction does not exist.