Trump’s Friend…
Meta Platforms has reached a turning point in protecting youth online. The social media giant is defending itself in a California federal court against 29 states, including several Republicans, weeks after a devastating legal hit in New Mexico. The states claim Meta broke federal law by willfully providing venues to addict children and illegally gathering their personal information.
Rivalry in California
The multi-state trial under U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers began Tuesday in Oakland, California. Bipartisan attorneys from 29 states, including Colorado, California, New Jersey, and Kentucky, will give opening comments. This trial, which covers all 29 states for data-harvesting, tests those four states’ addictive design and false marketing claims.
Strangely, the eight-person jury will not decide the matter. Rogers rarely gives consulting endorsements. Reuters reports that when the trial ends in October, the judge can disregard the jury’ findings because they answered her questions.
The states said that Meta misled about its platforms’ safety for teens, utilized infinite scroll to lure young users, and violated federal law by gathering and selling children’s personal data.
Meta has never seen a situation with such substantial financial exposure. The corporation warned that maximum statutory fines might reach $1.4 trillion, and the attorneys general have hinted at $200 billion.
A recent Reuters/Ipsos survey found youth social media addiction a serious issue. 85% of Americans agree.
Besides financial reforms, the alliance wants to lower the minimum age to use the service, remove AI models and algorithms created with children’s data, eliminate endless scrolling and notifications, limit young users’ time, and rewrite the algorithm to prioritize well-being over engagement. Former employees, independent experts, and Mark Zuckerberg and Adam Mosseri testify.
Recent Texas Events
A devastating legal failure in New Mexico led to the multi-state trial. On August 6, Michigan Judge Bryan Biedscheid deemed Meta a public nuisance and ordered it to pay $567 million into a child mental health fund over five years. That total includes $420 million for treatment, $90 million for screening and assessment, $33 million for prevention and awareness, and $15 million for referrals and care coordination. The verdict followed a March $375 million New Mexico jury fine for Unfair Practices Act violations.
Award funding was far below New Mexico’s request. The state sought $1 billion for a $3.7 billion child mental health effort.
“The Court finds that the weight of the evidence presented demonstrates that Meta’s platforms are a cause of and substantial contributing factor to the youth mental health crisis in New Mexico.”
Biedscheid compared platforms to polluting factories since problems “do not stay contained” and burden families, schools, hospitals, and law enforcement “to the real world”.
The order, which was a victory for New Mexico attorney general Raul Torrez, also caps teens’ monthly Facebook and Instagram use, limits notifications, protects artificial intelligence chatbots, and improves child sexual abuse review for five years. Meta must submit written progress reports twice a year. The template is currently available to the 29-state coalition.
Defense of Meta
Meta plans to appeal the New Mexico ruling, saying the California attorneys general are seeking a “outlandish payout” without proof of true harm. “We will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts,” the company said after the New Mexico ruling, adding that they are confident in protecting kids online.
The company maintains it has invested much in deleting predators and dangerous content from its site, recruiting kid safety experts, and using technology. Meta’s lawyers say the state cases are an attempt to hold the corporation accountable for business-wide concerns like age verification.
At the US Senate in 2021, whistleblower Frances Haugen presented internal documents showing that Meta knew its services could harm young users but prioritized participation over safety.
Meta has company. Rogers sees almost 3,000 of Los Angeles state court’s 3,300 complaints. It shares this legal duty with Snap, ByteDance, and Alphabet, TikTok and YouTube’s parents. Eight states—including Arkansas and Tennessee—filed in state court instead of federal court. Tennessee’s trial has begun.
Youth safety litigation “could considerably affect our company and financial outcomes,” Meta told investors.
