1 week ago
Meta and States Discuss Settlement in Teen Social Media Trial
Meta owns Facebook and Instagram, which many young people use.
Twenty-nine states say Meta designed these apps to keep teenagers using them for a long time.
They point to features such as infinite scrolling, notifications and safety tools.
The states also say Meta collected information from children under 13 without properly getting permission from their parents.
A federal trial is taking place in Oakland, California.
During the trial’s second week, Meta and state officials reportedly discussed settling the case.
No settlement has been publicly confirmed.
Meta says the accusations are unsubstantiated and that the states are demanding too much money and too many changes.
The company also argues that social media addiction is not a recognized psychiatric condition.
Meta and attorneys general from 29 states have reportedly discussed a possible mid-trial settlement in federal court in Oakland, California.
The states allege that Facebook and Instagram were designed to encourage addictive or compulsive use among teenagers.
Four states accuse Meta of violating consumer-protection laws, while 29 states allege violations of federal children’s privacy rules.
The states say Meta collected data from children under 13 without parental notification or consent and used it to train machine-learning and generative-AI models.
Meta denies wrongdoing, disputes the requested penalties and platform changes, and estimates a trial loss could cost up to $1.4 trillion.
- Who
- Meta Platforms and attorneys general from 29 states; California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey are presenting the federal consumer-protection claims.
- What
- A federal lawsuit alleges that Meta designed Facebook and Instagram to encourage compulsive teen use, misled consumers about safety features and improperly collected children’s personal data.
- Where
- The trial is taking place in federal court in Oakland, California.
- When
- Settlement discussions were reported during the trial’s second week; jury selection began on August 12.
- Why
- The states seek financial penalties and mandatory changes to Meta’s platforms over alleged consumer-protection and children’s privacy violations.
States’ allegations
Meta’s defense
Platform design
States’ allegations
The states allege that Meta deliberately designed features including infinite scrolling and push notifications to encourage prolonged or compulsive use by young people.
Meta’s defense
Meta denies deliberately designing its services to harm or addict young users and calls the allegations unsubstantiated.
Children’s personal data
States’ allegations
The states allege that Meta collected personal data from children under 13 without parental notification or consent, violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
Meta’s defense
Meta denies the allegations and says it has worked hard to protect children on its platforms.
Safety features and disclosures
States’ allegations
State lawyers cited the low use of Instagram’s “Take a Break” feature before it became the default for teenagers and the removal of safety-related data from a 2023 presentation.
Meta’s defense
Adam Mosseri denied deliberately delaying the default setting or encouraging employees to hide legally problematic information. Meta says the states have not shown that consumers were misled.
Penalties and platform changes
States’ allegations
The states seek substantial penalties and mandatory changes to how Meta’s platforms operate.
Meta’s defense
Meta calls the proposed payout and design changes unreasonable and “outlandish,” and argues that social media addiction is not a recognized psychiatric condition.
Key facts
- Defendant
- Meta Platforms, owner of Facebook and Instagram
- States involved
- Attorneys general from 29 states
- States leading the federal claims
- California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey
- Reported settlement
- Bloomberg News reported that Meta and state officials discussed a possible mid-trial settlement; no agreement was publicly confirmed
- Privacy allegation
- The states allege Meta collected data from users under 13 without parental notification or consent and used it to train machine-learning and generative-AI models
- Potential penalties
- Meta estimates that losing the trial could result in penalties of up to $1.4 trillion
- Trial testimony
- Instagram head Adam Mosseri and current and former Meta employees testified during the first week; lawyers said Mark Zuckerberg could also testify
Quotes
Meta spokesperson
Meta representative who responded to ABC News about the state attorneys general’s allegations
“The State AGs may call this a landmark case, but their limited claims are unsubstantiated, and their financial demands are vastly disproportionate”
livemint.com
“I want to understand how things work. I can't think of any time that I've encouraged people to bring less information to me.”
livemint.com
Sources
Meta, States have discussed settling teen social media case
Meta, States Discuss Settlement In Teen Social Media Addiction Case
Meta, US states have discussed settling teen social media harm case
Meta reportedly discussing a mid-trial settlement as the case by 29 state attorneys general enters its second week
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