29 States Take Meta to Federal Court Over Child Safety

This week, another historic trial against social media and AI behemoth Meta, kicked off in federal court. An unprecedented bipartisan coalition of 29 state governments is coming together to demand accountability for privacy violations and unsafe design features putting young people at risk on Meta’s apps, Facebook and Instagram.

According to a lawyer representing the group of state attorneys general, Meta’s business model is not only leading to, but reliant on, the exploitation of young people’s data and attention. This is not a fringe accusation; it is outlined in the company’s own internal research.

This trial confirms what families and experts have been saying for years– Meta’s harms were a financial choice, not an innovation accident.  

The coalition of 29 states represents a rarely seen coalition of red, blue, and purple governments joining together on the issue of unsafe technology targeting children. The state attorneys general from Kentucky, New Jersey, Colorado, and California leading the coalition opened with statements challenging the business practices and design of Meta’s technology. Much like recent hearings in other states, such as New Mexico, where a court ordered Meta to pay more than $942 million because its apps’ unsafe design posed a threat to youth mental health, the coalition is focusing on how the company chose to make unsafe design and business decisions (a map highlighting all the states that have filed lawsuits against leading social media companies below). These aren’t isolated incidents. They are a pattern, and patterns are what juries and legislators respond to. 

It’s hard to fathom how Meta can withstand the facts highlighted in whistleblower testimony from father and former Meta employee Arturo Bejar’s recollection of Meta’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach to child safety; the well-documented internal documentation showing Meta’s active pursuit of their technology’s addictive properties; or the power of countless stories from parents who have lost their children to suicide, and families who have witnessed irreparable harm to their children.

Parents and advocates, including those from The Parents’ Network, are standing tall outside the courthouse, facing the enormity of this hearing. The reckoning many families have waited years for has finally reached the federal courtroom. We stand with them as we wait to see what this trial will mean for children across the country and the world.

40+ states have filed lawsuits against leading social media companies, including the 29 in this trial. Image courtesy of Fund IRL