The child safety trial against Meta kicks off in federal court : NPR

Key Points:

• A landmark trial began in Oakland, California, with several states accusing Meta Platforms of designing Instagram and Facebook to addict young users and misleading the public about these risks, seeking accountability for harm to children's mental health.
• The states allege Meta used addictive features like infinite scroll and photo filters to increase "teen time spent," violating laws including the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting data on users under 13 without parental consent.
• Meta denies the allegations, arguing it has implemented strong protections for teens and that the lawsuit selectively interprets internal data and studies out of context, emphasizing ongoing efforts to improve user safety.
• The trial features testimony from a former Meta engineer and whistleblower who revealed internal studies showing higher rates of harmful content exposure among younger users and accused Meta of downplaying addiction risks by using euphemisms like "problematic use."
• Potential penalties could reach as high as $1.4 trillion, but state officials focus on forcing Meta to change its product design to prevent harm, with the case expected to last six weeks and possible appeals anticipated.