Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Meta is set to face one of its biggest legal fights yet as a federal trial begins on Tuesday in Oakland, California, over claims that Facebook and Instagram were designed in ways that made children addicted and worsened the youth mental health crisis. The case is one of several across the United States in which major social media companies are defending themselves against allegations that their platforms harmed children and teenagers.
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The cases against Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube could lead to financial penalties as well as changes in how the platforms are designed and run. For Meta, the stakes are especially high after it lost two major cases related to harms to children and teens this year. The company said last month that its profit had fallen, in part because of USD 2.4 billion in legal expenses.
Meta said evidence in the upcoming trial would show its commitment to supporting young people. In a statement, the company said, “We’ve listened to parents, worked with experts and law enforcement, and conducted in-depth research to understand the issues that matter most.”
The case opening on Tuesday has been brought jointly by California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey. They were among dozens of states that sued Meta three years ago over the design of its platforms and the harm they say followed for children. Trials involving the other 25 states are expected later. The states are seeking extensive financial damages that could, in theory, run into billions of dollars, along with changes to how Facebook and Instagram operate. Meta has said it disputes the allegations.
In New Mexico, the state accused Meta of knowingly harming children’s mental health and hiding what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms. A jury ruled for the state in March and found thousands of violations, leading to a penalty of USD 375 million, less than one-fifth of what prosecutors had sought. In early August, the judge ordered Meta to pay another USD 567 million in the second phase of the trial and set out new safety steps, including a 90-hour monthly limit for users under 18, restrictions on AI chatbots and mandatory warnings on the platforms. Meta has said it disagrees with the verdict and will appeal.
Tennessee chose to file its own case in a local court even though its Attorney General’s Office had been part of the wider multistate investigation that led to the 2023 lawsuit against Meta. Lawyers made opening statements in late July, and the trial is expected to continue until early September, according to The Tennessean. When the lawsuit was filed three years ago, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said, “Targeting kids with a harmful product and lying about its safety violates the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act. Meta knows every last design decision that made Instagram addictive to kids and that means it knows exactly how to fix the problem. We’re suing to make the company fix the problem.”
Earlier this year, a jury in Los Angeles found Meta and YouTube liable in a case centred on social media addiction and claims that the companies built their platforms to hook young users without regard for their well-being. The plaintiff, identified by her initials KGM, told the court that she became addicted to social media as a child and that it worsened her mental health struggles. After more than 40 hours of deliberations, a majority of jurors agreed and awarded USD 6 million in damages. The case was the first of its kind and was chosen as a bellwether trial, meaning it could shape similar lawsuits. TikTok and Snapchat had also been named in the case, but they settled before the trial began. Meta and YouTube have each appealed.
School districts across the US have also sued major social media companies, seeking compensation for costs they say arose from dealing with harm to children’s mental health linked to social media addiction. A case brought by a small rural school district in Kentucky was due to go to trial this summer in federal court in California, but Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube each settled before it began. That case had also been selected as a bellwether from 1,200 similar lawsuits. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said their “focus remains on pursuing justice for the remaining 1,200 school districts who have filed cases.”
There are also thousands of individual lawsuits against social media companies. Many say platform design features made young users addicted to social media and led to harmful mental health outcomes. Others involve families of children and young adults who died by suicide after problematic social media use, and families whose children died from accidental overdoses after drug purchases were facilitated through social platforms.
As Meta heads into the Oakland trial, it is facing not just one lawsuit but a wider legal challenge across the US over how social media platforms affect children. The cases already decided, the trials under way and the many more yet to be heard could all influence how these platforms operate in the years ahead.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
