August 18, 2026 — Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram is in US federal court in Oakland California to face a landmark trial over allegations that it intentionally engineered Facebook and Instagram to hook children and teenagers.
The lawsuit, originally filed in 2023 by a bipartisan coalition of 29 state attorneys general, accuses the tech giant of creating a youth mental health crisis for financial gain. The state attorneys general co-led by California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey allege that Meta utilized unprecedented, dopamine-manipulating technologies to ensnare young users.
The legal filings accuse Meta of addictive design like utilizing features like "infinite scroll," continuous notifications, and autoplay videos to maximize screen time. They also acuse Meta of concealing internal research that linked features like public "like" counts and appearance-altering image filters to anxiety, depression, and body image issues among minors.
Furthermore, Meta is being accused of systematically collecting and exploiting personal data from children under the age of 13 without obtaining required parental consent, violating the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Court reports alleged that Internal documents indicate that Meta executives were aware of these vulnerabilities. The reports also claim that in a June pretrial ruling, the presiding judge noted internal records alleging that Meta's time-restriction tools were primarily a "public relations stunt", as staff knew extended screen time was detrimental to teens.
However, Meta has strongly denied the allegations, labeling the claims "unsubstantiated" and the financial demands "vastly disproportionate". A corporate spokesperson stated that the attorneys general have provided no proof that residents were intentionally misled. Meta maintains that it has spent a decade enhancing online safety, pointing to over 30 parental control tools and the recent deployment of private-by-default "Teen Accounts" on Instagram.
In addition, Meta's legal team has argued that "social media addiction" is not an officially recognized psychiatric diagnosis, suggesting that tech companies should not be held legally liable for industry-wide challenges like age verification.
The trial is being overseen by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers and is projected to last between six and seven weeks. High-ranking executives, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri, are expected to be put under oath to testify.
The stakes extend far beyond financial penalties. If the states prevail, the court could order sweeping nationwide overhauls of Meta's business model. The plaintiffs are demanding structural platform modifications, including banning infinite scrolling and video autoplay for minors, eliminating public "like" counts on adolescent accounts, enforcing mandatory, strict parental verification processes, and removing cosmetic image filters and restricting disappearing "ephemeral" posts.
This federal showdown follows a string of legal setbacks for Meta. Earlier in August, a state court in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $567 million for failing to shield minors from exploitation, pushing its total state-level liabilities in that region close to $1 billion. Additionally, a Los Angeles jury previously awarded $6 million to a young woman over social media addiction claims.
Because social media companies have historically been shielded from liability under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, legal analysts view this specific trial as a critical turning point. A defeat for Meta could erode tech giants' traditional legal immunities and permanently reshape how platforms are built for the next generation.
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