{"id":18007,"date":"2026-08-18T18:07:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T18:07:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/?p=18007"},"modified":"2026-08-18T18:07:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T18:07:38","slug":"29-states-seek-200-billion-from-meta-in-federal-youth-addiction-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/2026\/08\/18\/29-states-seek-200-billion-from-meta-in-federal-youth-addiction-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"29 States Seek $200 Billion From Meta in Federal Youth Addiction Trial"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A landmark federal trial opened on Tuesday in California, where a bipartisan coalition of 29 states is seeking approximately $200 billion in damages from Meta Platforms Inc. over claims the company intentionally designed Facebook and Instagram to addict children and misled the public about platform safety.<\/p>\n<p>Deputy California Attorney General Meghan O&#8217;Neill, representing a state coalition led by California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey, outlined the prosecution&#8217;s case to the jury. O&#8217;Neill asserted that Meta&#8217;s core business model relies on a strategy to &#8220;hook the users, hold them for as long as they can, harvest their data, and then hide the truth from the public.&#8221; To demonstrate Meta&#8217;s awareness of youth vulnerability to its algorithms, state prosecutors pointed to an internal company document titled &#8220;The Young Ones are the Best Ones.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>State attorneys general contend that Meta&#8217;s platform mechanics directly contributed to widespread youth mental health harms, including heightened anxiety, depression, and suicide. &#8220;Meta needed kids, and it needed to reassure the people who cared about those kids that the kids are safe,&#8221; O&#8217;Neill told the court, arguing that the company prioritized user retention over child protection.<\/p>\n<p>The trial is scheduled to unfold over several weeks, with high-profile corporate executives slated to take the witness stand. Meta co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram chief <a href=\"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/2026\/07\/28\/instagram-cracks-down-on-hidden-camera-videos-as-meta-smart-glasses-face-severe-privacy-backlash\/\" class=\"auto-internal-link\" title=\"Instagram Cracks Down on Hidden Camera Videos as Meta Smart Glasses Face Severe Privacy Backlash\">Adam Mosseri<\/a> are both expected to testify as the states attempt to establish executive knowledge of the platforms&#8217; alleged behavioral impacts.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"mark_zuckerberg_meta.jpg\" alt=\"Mark Zuckerberg chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc.\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>Meta has forcefully rejected the allegations, pointing to safety tools implemented across its apps to protect teenagers and block children under the required age thresholds. Prior to the trial&#8217;s commencement, a Meta spokesperson criticized the litigation, stating that state officials &#8220;offer no proof anyone in their states was misled&#8221; and are attempting to penalize benign product features such as permitting an additional Instagram account.<\/p>\n<p>The company further argued that age verification remains an industry-wide challenge rather than a firm-specific failure, maintaining that the prosecuting attorneys general have &#8220;decided to chase an outlandish payout&#8221; rather than rely on legal and factual evidence.<\/p>\n<div class=\"related-news-box\">\n<h3 class=\"related-news-title\">Read also:<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"related_news_list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/2026\/08\/18\/nvidia-caps-guarantee-at-105b-for-openais-massive-ohio-data-center\/\">Nvidia Caps Guarantee at $105B for OpenAI&#8217;s Massive Ohio Data Center<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/2026\/08\/18\/lawler-targets-hochul-energy-rules-as-new-york-out-migration-continues\/\">Lawler Targets Hochul Energy Rules as New York Out-Migration Continues<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/2026\/08\/18\/14-charged-in-penn-state-fraternity-cocaine-ring\/\">14 Charged in Penn State Fraternity Cocaine Ring<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A landmark federal trial opened on Tuesday in California, where a bipartisan coalition of 29 states is seeking approximately $200 billion in damages from Meta Platforms Inc. over claims the company intentionally designed Facebook and Instagram to addict children and misled the public about platform safety. Deputy California Attorney General Meghan O&#8217;Neill, representing a state &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18009,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[9954,19776,19777,19778,19780,19779],"class_list":["post-18007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-adam-mosseri","tag-bipartisan-coalition-of-29-states","tag-deputy-california-attorney-general-meghan-oneill","tag-hook-the-users-hold-them-for-as-long-as-they-can-harvest-their-data-and-then-hide-the-truth-from-the-public","tag-outlandish-payout","tag-the-young-ones-are-the-best-ones"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18007"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18011,"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18007\/revisions\/18011"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}