The first major trial against Meta over claims that its Facebook and Instagram platforms damaged the mental health of children and teenagers through social media addiction is underway in the United States. The case, described as historic, involves 29 US states and targets the two Meta-owned platforms.
Meta denies the accusations and says the evidence presented against it does not hold up. The trial is expected to last up to six weeks, and Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's chief executive, is scheduled to testify during the proceedings.
Technology and innovation specialist Arthur Igreja said the case was unprecedented in scale. He said social media platforms have deliberate mechanisms built in to generate dependency, and said, in his words translated from Portuguese, that "the bill has come due."
Igreja compared the trial to the lawsuits brought against the tobacco industry in the 1990s, which led to sweeping structural changes in that sector. He also pointed to the bipartisan nature of the case: at a time of intense political polarization in the United States, Democrats and Republicans are aligned in the accusations, with four states leading the process.
The four mechanisms of addiction
During the first week of the trial, prosecutors laid out what they call the "4Hs." The first is hook, the process of capturing the attention of children, teenagers and adults.
The second is hold, which aims to maximize screen time through infinite scroll, algorithms that build hyper-personalized feeds in real time, and videos that play automatically.
The third mechanism is harvest, referring to the extraction of user data, including from children under 13, a practice barred under US law. The fourth is hide, which refers to concealing the consequences of these practices from users.
Psychologists also testified during the first week, describing the negative impact of these mechanisms on the mental health of young people.
Whistleblowers back the accusation
The prosecution's case also rests on testimony from former Meta employees who became whistleblowers. One of them, a former director of engineering at Facebook, said the company prioritized the rapid launch of new products over user safety.
Igreja said the presence of these whistleblowers made it far harder for Meta to argue it did not know the effects of its platforms. He said it becomes much more difficult to argue that no one knew, or that every precaution was taken.
According to Igreja, internal documents disclosed over time show the company had access to studies demonstrating the harm caused by its platforms but chose to ignore them in favor of advertising revenue and keeping users engaged.
Possible consequences
The estimated fine if Meta is found liable could reach $200 billion, a figure close to the company's annual revenue. Among the measures sought by the prosecution are an end to infinite scroll and automatic video playback for children and teenagers. If granted, those demands could radically change the social media experience.
Igreja warned the case could set a precedent for similar lawsuits against other platforms, including YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat.
He also said the debate now underway in the United States is far more intense than anything that has been considered in Brazil, where the regulation of technology companies remains a contentious topic.
