Facebook parent company Meta is facing a major trial in California over allegations that it deliberately designed Facebook and Instagram to be addictive to children and failed to adequately protect young users.
A coalition of U.S. states sued Meta in 2023, with California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey now representing the states in the trial. The states argue that Meta violated state and federal laws through its social media practices.
The trial opened Tuesday after a federal judge rejected Meta’s attempt to prevent former employee and expert witness Arturo Bejar from testifying. Bejar has previously given evidence against Meta and testified in a New Mexico case that the company lost.
Lawyers for the states are expected to question Bejar about Meta’s safety practices, growth strategies and whether the company publicly misrepresented what it knew about potential risks to users.
Meta has also challenged the testimony of another expert, Colin Gray, who is expected to discuss “dark patterns”—features designed to influence users into making choices that benefit a company.
Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is among the high-profile witnesses expected to testify during the proceedings.
The company has strongly rejected the allegations.
The states are seeking about $200 billion in damages and penalties, while also demanding changes to Meta’s applications. Meta had previously suggested in a court filing that the potential penalties could exceed $1 trillion, but the states said that figure was exaggerated.
The case is expected to last about six weeks, with a verdict anticipated by early October.
Legal experts say the trial could have major implications for Meta and potentially lead to significant changes in how social media companies design and operate their platforms.
Some experts have compared the case to the major legal battle between U.S. states and tobacco companies in the 1990s, which resulted in billions of dollars in payments and changes to tobacco marketing practices.
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