Meta's pivotal court battle over social media's harm to children gets underway in US with the Facebook and Instagram owner facing $1.4 TRILLION penalty

Meta's pivotal court battle over social media's harm to children gets underway in US with the Facebook and Instagram owner facing $1.4 TRILLION penalty - See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source The owner of Facebook and Instagram today faces a $1.4trillion court battle over social media's harm to children. Attorneys General from California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey are seeking billions of dollars in damages against Meta Platforms for how the company operates its social media sites. Twenty-nine states sued the tech giant in 2023 over child safety and privacy in a Californian federal court – with the remaining 25 states not in court today going to trial later. The company also faces lawsuits in state courts. The lawsuit accuses the social media giant of contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly and deliberately designing features that addict children to its platforms. It also argues that Meta routinely collects data on children under 13 without their parents' consent – which would violate US federal law. The states are also demanding Meta make changes to Instagram and Facebook, such as ending 'like' counts and infinite scroll. One state attorney general described the case as 'the largest consumer protection lawsuit in American history'. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, will attend a $1.4trillion court battle over social media's harm to children Attorney Paul W. Schmidt, representing Meta, arrived at the trial this morning in California 'This week, we're in court with the largest consumer protection lawsuit in American history. We'll show a jury that Meta concealed what it knew about the harm its products cause young people because looking away was more profitable,' Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said in a written statement. Kentucky and the other states are asking Meta to make wide-ranging changes to how its social networking platforms work. For example, they want Meta to adopt a process of parental verification for teenage users, change its 'dopamine-manipulating recommendation algorithms' and remove image filters that change one's appearance in photos. It also demands Meta end auto-play of video content, prohibit the ability to make multiple accounts and end disappearing posts, such as Instagram Stories. The states claim that these features make it much more likely for a child to be addicted to the platforms. But Meta said it believes it has a strong case. It said in a written 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, and continuing to the present day. 'We look forward to showing the judge and the jury those facts in court.' Colorado Attorney General Philip J. Weiser arrives before opening statements as Meta faces a landmark trial in federal court California Attorney General Rob Bonta is among numerous Attorney Generals who are seeking billions of dollars in damages against Meta Platforms for how the company operates its social media sites The court case is expected to last six to eight weeks with testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland will oversee the proceedings. Ms Gonzalez Rogers has overseen a litany of complex, high-profile cases involving big tech. These include Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI and its founders as well as Epic Games' lawsuit against Apple over its app store. If Meta loses the trial, the court would have wide discretion over the size of any financial penalty but legal experts say anything close to $1.4trillion would be unlikely. Meta's entire value on the stock market is around $1.4trillion. The trial is the latest in an avalanche of lawsuits against Meta Platforms and other social media companies including Google's YouTube, TikTok and Snap, over arguments that their platforms harm young people, illegally collect their data and are deliberately designed to addict them.