Meta faces states' accusations of hooking children in federal trial
Meta (the company behind Instagram and Facebook) just wrapped up the first week of a major federal trial.
California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey are accusing Meta of designing features like infinite scrolling to keep children, even those under 13, hooked for longer, all to boost ad revenue.
The states also say Meta hid mental health risks tied to its platforms.
Meta disabled nearly 1.5 million accounts
California's deputy attorney general described Meta's approach as "hook, hold, harvest, hide."
A former Facebook leader testified that while Meta researched social media's impact on children's mental health, some safety tools were "designed to fail."
Meta says these claims are unfair and points out it disabled nearly 1 1/2 million accounts thought to be used by children under 13 between 2020 and 2024.
Up next: professor of psychology Jean Twenge will talk about social media and teen depression; CEO Mark Zuckerberg might even take the stand himself.