Meta goes on federal trial for social media addiction, with states seeking more than $1trn

A federal trial against Meta alleging the tech giant contributed to a mental health crisis in young people opens today.

It's the biggest trial of its kind yet, with dozens of states seeking financial damages that could total as much as $1.4trn (£1.03tn).

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is accused of knowingly and deliberately designing features that get children addicted to its social media platforms.

It also claims that Meta routinely collects data on children under 13 without their parents' consent, in violation of federal law.

The company denies wrongdoing, and said in a statement: "We are proud of our record in protecting teens on our platforms and the amount of effort that we've put into developing protections over the years, even before these cases were ever filed."

While dozens of states filed the federal lawsuit three years ago, Tuesday's trial features four of those as plaintiffs - California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey.

The other 25 states are expected to have trials later. Meta is also facing lawsuits from thousands of families over similar issues, as well as similar cases at the state level.

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Two trials found Meta liable for harm

It follows a landmark trial in New Mexico earlier this year, which found Meta knowingly harmed children's mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its social media platforms.

The judge ordered the company to pay $567m (£421m) in damages - on top of the initial $375m (£280m) - and was also told to introduce new safety measures including a time limit of 90 hours per month for users under 18, AI chatbot restrictions, and mandatory warnings on the platforms.

It meant the penalty totals close to $1bn. Meta said it disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal.

The company, along with Google, was also found liable by a court in Los Angeles in March for a woman's social media addiction - in what was hailed as a landmark ruling.

A jury found that Instagram and YouTube were responsible for harm caused to the woman - referred to in court as KGM or Kaley - who said she developed a number of mental health issues after using social media from a young age.

It marked the first time Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in court about child safety - which he will do again during this federal trial.

She was awarded $6m (£4.4m) in damages. Both companies disagree with the ruling and plan to appeal.

(c) Sky News 2026: Meta goes on federal trial for social media addiction, with states seeking more than $1trn