Meta is facing one of its biggest legal tests yet as a landmark US trial examines whether Facebook and Instagram were deliberately designed to keep children and teenagers hooked.
A coalition of US states accuses Meta of using features such as infinite scrolling, recommendations, likes and notifications to maximise the amount of time young users spend on its platforms. The states also allege that Meta misled the public about the risks and collected data from children under 13 without proper parental consent.
Meta strongly denies the allegations. But the most interesting part of its defence is the argument that social media addiction itself is not an established psychiatric condition. The company says the states have not proved that its platforms cause the kind of harm they are alleging and points to the safety measures it has introduced for young users.
Meta Is Challenging the Word “Addiction”
This could become one of the most important arguments in the case. Meta’s position is essentially that spending too much time on Instagram does not automatically mean someone is addicted to it. The company also argues that teenage mental health problems have many causes and cannot simply be blamed on social media.
The states are trying to prove something different. They argue that Meta understood how its products affected young users and deliberately designed features to keep them coming back, even when the company knew some users were experiencing harm.
That changes the question from “Are teenagers spending too much time online?” to “Did Meta know its product was encouraging compulsive use and choose to keep it that way?”
Former Meta Engineer Is Now a Key Witness
The case is also putting Meta’s internal decision-making under the microscope. Former Meta engineering director Arturo Bejar has testified about internal concerns surrounding young users. He says the company had data showing significant problems among teenagers but did not adequately act on warnings from its own employees.
That evidence could be particularly damaging if prosecutors convince the court that Meta knew about the risks while continuing to prioritise engagement.
Mark Zuckerberg and other senior Meta executives are expected to testify during the trial, which could last around six weeks.
This Could Change Social Media for Children
The financial stakes are enormous, with potential penalties reaching as high as $1.4 trillion, according to Meta’s legal filings. But money may not be the biggest consequence.
The states are also seeking changes to how Facebook and Instagram operate, including restrictions on features they describe as addictive and stronger protections for underage users.
That could affect the entire technology industry. If Meta loses, other platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat could face even greater pressure to prove that their products are not deliberately exploiting children’s vulnerabilities.
The trial is therefore about more than whether children can become addicted to Instagram. It could determine how much responsibility technology companies have for what happens to young users after they open the app.
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