The Meta Trial Could Lead To Substantial Changes To Social Media Platforms. Here’s How.

A landmark trial against Meta could end up with substantial changes to the way social media platforms are structured, according to a new report.

CNBC detailed that state attorneys general suing the company are demanding the removal of "certain addictive design features" from Instagram and Facebook.

Among them are infinite scrolling, autoplaying videos, Instagram Stories, beauty filters and feeds that are fueled by algorithms, rather than people's network.

The trial has already begun. On its first day, former Meta executive Arturo Bejar said company CEO Mark Zuckerberg fostered a culture that prioritized growth and engagement over child safety.

"You just cannot trust Mark Zuckerberg with kids," Bejar said during his testimony. He worked at the company between 2009 and 2015 and was an independent contractor between 2019 and 2021 examining the well-being of teenagers on Instagram. In 2023 he had already told Congress that the company was aware of harms to teenagers and failed to address them.

According to the lawsuit, Meta "developed and refined a set of psychologically manipulative platform features designed to maximize young users' time spent on its social media platforms."

The attorneys general are also alleging that Meta knew its platforms could contribute to anxiety, depression and suicide among some young users but presented its products as safe.

Another major component of the case involves the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA. The states accuse Meta of knowingly allowing children under 13 to use its platforms and collecting their personal information without obtaining the parental consent required by federal law. Meta strongly denies the allegations and is also challenging the potential financial penalties sought in the case.

According to the company, the states' approach could expose it to damages of as much as $1.4 trillion, an amount approaching Meta's roughly $1.5 trillion market capitalization. "The State AGs may call this a landmark case, but their limited claims are unsubstantiated, and their financial demands are vastly disproportionate," a Meta spokesperson said.

Meta argues that the states have failed to demonstrate that residents were actually deceived or harmed by the specific practices cited in the lawsuit. The company also says governments are attempting to punish it for broader industry problems, including the difficulty of reliably verifying children's ages online.

"We stand by our record of creating strong protections for teens, and look forward to making our case in court," the spokesperson said. The Oakland trial comes at an increasingly consequential moment for Meta and the wider social media industry. Earlier this month, a New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $567 million to address teen mental health in the state, along with $375 million in civil penalties.

In March, a jury found Meta and YouTube negligent in another social media addiction lawsuit involving a woman who began using the platforms at age 10. The lawsuit alleged that their product designs contributed to her developing a dangerous dependency, anxiety, depression, self-harm and body dysmorphia. The companies were ordered to pay $6 million in punitive and compensatory damages.