Meta Faces Trial Tuesday Over Alleged Child Safety, Social Media Addiction Harms

3-line summary

• Meta will face attorneys general from several states in an Oakland, California courtroom Tuesday in a trial alleging the company violated child safety and consumer protection laws and harmed children's mental health, according to a Yahoo Finance report; the case stems from a lawsuit filed by 29 states in 2023 and will serve as a bellwether for future proceedings.
• California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey are participating in the trial before District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, with testimony expected from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri; plaintiffs allege Meta designed features like infinite scroll and autoplay to maximize young users' time on its platforms while knowing of harms including anxiety, depression and suicide.
• Meta denies the allegations and says potential damages could reach $1.4 trillion against the company's roughly $1.5 trillion market capitalization; earlier this month a New Mexico court separately ordered Meta to pay $567 million plus $375 million in civil penalties over teen mental health.

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