Meta is facing a major child safety trial in California over claims that its social media platforms can harm young users. The case could have a major effect on how Facebook and Instagram are designed for children.
Lawyers for California and other US states say Meta built its platforms to keep users online for as long as possible. They also claim the company collected data from children and failed to protect them from harmful content.
Megan O’Neill, a lawyer for California, said Meta’s business model can be summed up with four words: hook, hold, harvest and hide. She said the company hooks users, holds their attention, collects their data and hides key facts from the public.
O’Neill said this system worked especially well with children. California has joined 28 other states in the case against Meta.
The trial began in Oakland, California, near Meta’s main offices in Silicon Valley. The case focuses on claims that Meta broke federal child privacy rules and state consumer laws.
The states say Meta collected data from children under 13 without proper permission from parents. They also claim the company designed its products in ways that could encourage harmful and repeated use.
Eight jurors are hearing evidence in the case. The trial is expected to last between six and eight weeks.
The states are also asking Meta to change parts of its products. They want stronger safety measures for children. Such changes could affect how Meta runs its social media services.
The financial risk is also very large. The states say damages could reach $200 billion if Meta is found liable. That amount is close to the company’s total yearly revenue in 2025.
Meta has rejected the claims. The company says the states are seeking an excessive payout instead of focusing on the law and facts.
Meta lawyer Paul Schmidt said people can struggle with social media use. However, he said Meta has created tools to address those problems.
Schmidt also said Meta does not allow children under 13 to open accounts on its social networks. He said the company has removed more than one million accounts linked to users below that age.
A key witness in the case is Arturo Béjar, a former Meta safety engineer. Béjar worked at the company during two periods between 2009 and 2021.
Béjar became a critic of Meta after leaving the company. He told the court that his interest in child safety grew after his teenage daughter faced harmful experiences on Instagram.
He said his daughter received unwanted sexual messages and abusive content. He also said she had trouble reporting the abuse through Instagram.
Béjar told the jury that Meta had not done enough to deal with these problems. He said the company followed a strategy that allowed child safety issues to remain out of public view.
Béjar also said he spoke with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg more than 100 times during his work at the company. He presented Zuckerberg with research on harmful experiences reported by teenagers.
The research found that 51% of surveyed teens had a bad or harmful experience on Instagram during the previous seven days. Béjar said the related content was removed only a very small number of times.
He said he sent the findings to Zuckerberg because he believed the CEO could make major changes when an issue became a priority.
Béjar said Zuckerberg did not reply to his message.
Meta had tried to stop Béjar from giving evidence in the case. The company also challenged some of his evidence. The court rejected those efforts.
Meta has since questioned Béjar’s credibility. The company says he overstated his role and claimed credit for work he did not perform.
The court has also heard evidence from former Meta researchers Elena Davis and Natalie Troxel. Psychologist Jean Twenge has also testified about the possible effects of social media use.
The case is one of many legal battles facing Meta in the US. Families, schools and state officials have filed thousands of similar claims.
Earlier this year, Meta lost two cases that reached trial. One case ended with a payment of nearly $1 billion to New Mexico. Another case found Meta liable for designing products that encouraged harmful use by a young woman.
The California case could now become one of the most important child safety cases facing Meta. Its outcome may shape future rules for social media companies and the way they protect young users.
