US states accuse Meta of covering up research on teen social media addiction in pivotal trial

State attorneys general claim tech company intentionally designed addictive products that harm young people

Lawyers representing 29 US states have accused Meta of covering up internal research showing Instagram was addictive for teenagers. In a packed courtroom on the opening day of a landmark legal challenge, they said the company knew its products harmed children but hid that information from the public.

“I heard from many of you at jury selection that the health and wellbeing of kids is a shared responsibility,” said Megan O’Neill, a deputy attorney general for California , in her opening statements. “Meta didn’t do its share.”

O’Neill told jurors that she would be giving them a preview of what they could expect to see over the course of the trial, which would include witness testimony and internal documents the attorneys general uncovered while investigating the social media company.

She referenced one document that said, “the young ones are the best ones”, along with another where Meta stated: “Teens are hooked despite how it makes them feel. Instagram is addictive.”

The lawsuit against Meta accuses the parent company of Instagram and Facebook of deliberately designing addictive products that lure in young people and damage their mental health.

The jury trial is taking place in federal court in Oakland, California , and is expected to last between six and eight weeks. The jury will hear from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg , Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri and employee turned whistleblower Arturo Béjar .

The 233-page lawsuit, first filed in October 2023, alleges that Meta regularly collects data on children under the age of 13 without parental permission in violation of federal and state laws. The lawmakers claim in court documents that Meta “refuses to abandon its use of known harmful features” and that its motives are based solely on profit to “maximize its financial gains”.

The suit was filed jointly by 29 state attorneys general in what is known as multidistrict litigation, though the trial proceedings will be led by attorneys for California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey.

The sweeping legal proceedings could have profound consequences for the social media company. The attorneys general say that if Meta is found liable, damages could be as high as $200bn – an amount equivalent to the company’s 2025 annual revenue. The lawmakers are also asking that Meta be compelled to change the design of its products to make them safer for children , which may have longer-term effects than a fine.

Meta denies all allegations . In opening statements, Paul Schmidt, a lawyer for Meta, said the internal documents and emails the government lawyers showed the jury were taken out of context and cherry-picked from longer conversations.