Meta Trial Opens Over Claims Instagram, Facebook Addict Youth

Four states are asking a federal jury in California to hold Meta liable for designing Instagram and Facebook features that allegedly hook children and harm their mental health. The case, which opened Tuesday, seeks both monetary damages estimated in the hundreds of billions to trillions and court-ordered changes to core platform mechanics such as infinite scroll, like counts, and recommendation algorithms.

Court records show the plaintiffs are California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey. They filed the 233-page complaint in 2023 and now argue that Meta knowingly collected data on users under 13 without parental consent and retained features that maximize engagement even after internal research linked those features to social comparison, loneliness and negative mood. The states want Meta to add parental verification for teens, remove appearance-altering filters, end disappearing messages, and stop autoplay video.

Meta has denied the allegations in court filings and public statements, saying the claims are unsubstantiated and the financial demands disproportionate to any proven harm. The company points to existing safety tools and says evidence will show its commitment to young users. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is presiding; the trial is expected to last roughly seven weeks.

A separate New Mexico case reached a jury verdict in March 2026 that ordered Meta to pay $567 million and alter platform functions for minors in that state. That outcome supplies one data point on how similar claims have fared, though it does not bind the California jury. Meta is expected to appeal any adverse ruling here as well.

If the states prevail, the remedies could require lasting redesigns of how young people experience the two platforms. If Meta prevails, the litigation would still leave open parallel suits from additional states scheduled for 2027 and ongoing regulatory scrutiny in Europe and elsewhere.