Meta faces one of the biggest judicial challenges in its history in the United States. The company that owns Facebook and Instagram faces a federal trial in Oakland (California) starting this Tuesday over accusations from 29 states about the impact of its social networks on minors.
The procedure focuses on two major issues: whether Meta deliberately designed its platforms to encourage compulsive use among children and adolescents and whether it illegally collected data from minors under 13 years of age without the consent of their parents. Prosecutors also accuse the company of having minimized the risks associated with its platforms.
Meta’s supposed strategy to keep its users connected
The lawsuit, initially filed in 2023, alleges that Meta used different tools on its platforms to keep young users connected for longer. These include infinite scrolling, content recommendations, notifications and other mechanisms aimed at increasing interaction.
The states consider that these decisions were not accidental, but were part of a business strategy that prioritized the growth and participation of users over the possible harmful effects on minors.
Added to this is the accusation that Meta would have collected and used information from children under 13 years of age without having the parental consent required by US child protection legislation.
Where does the $1.4 billion penalty come from?
This figure is one of the data that has attracted the most attention in the case. Meta estimates that the sanctions could reach 1.4 billion dollars, around 1.2 billion euros, if the company were considered responsible for all the alleged infractions and the maximum contemplated penalties were applied.
However, this does not mean that states have submitted a $1.4 trillion bill. The figure represents a maximum scenario calculated from the possible sanctions for the different infractions. In fact, some experts consider it unlikely that an eventual sentence could reach such an amount.
The magnitude of the figure is better understood when comparing it with Meta’s own stock market value, therefore, a penalty of that size would be close to the company’s total capitalization.
Possible statements by Mark Zuckerberg in the trial
Although the procedure is directed against Meta and not against Mark Zuckerberg personally, the company’s founder and CEO is among the possible witnesses who could appear in court. Testimony is also planned from Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, and Arturo Béjar, a former Meta employee who has publicly criticized the company’s policies regarding minors.
The trial is expected to last several weeks and is being overseen by federal judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. The procedure also has an advisory jury whose decision will not be binding on the judge, who will have the last word.
Meta denies the accusations
The company has rejected the accusations and maintains that it has worked to improve the safety of teenagers on its platforms. Meta defends that it has already introduced protection tools for young users and questions that states have proven that its products have caused the harm attributed to them.
The result of the process could go far beyond a possible economic sanction. The states also want Meta to modify the operation of Facebook and Instagram, with measures that could affect certain functions and the way in which the company manages minors’ data.
For this reason, the trial has become a key case to determine how far the responsibility of large technology platforms can go for the effects of their products on younger users.
