Four states seek billions in damages and structural platform changes
Meta opened its defense this week in a California federal court against a coalition of four states accusing the company of contributing to the youth mental health crisis through deliberate platform design. The plaintiffs are asking the court to award billions of dollars in damages and to impose fundamental changes on how the company runs the apps.
The suit targets Instagram and Facebook. The states describe the features at issue as deliberate and stealthy, engineered to get children hooked, and argue the design choices contributed to what they characterize as a youth mental health crisis.
In opening arguments this week, Meta attorney Paul Schmidt told the court that children’s mental health and what they do and see on social media are all issues “Meta takes seriously and tries to act on.” Meta insists it has a long history of protecting its youngest customers.
Critics say the company’s safety record falls short and that many of its existing protections simply do not work.
The case is the latest in a swath of lawsuits targeting Meta and other social media companies over their effects on young users.