A 'Children's Privacy' Lawsuit That Affects You: If Meta Loses, Instagram and Facebook Could Change Forever

Meta has faced repeated courtroom losses over claims that its platforms target and harm young users, but a jury trial beginning Tuesday (August 18) could pose the biggest threat yet to its operations. The lawsuit stems from a 2023 action filed by 30 U.S. states, including California and New York, accusing Meta of numerous violations of federal and state children's privacy laws. The states are not only seeking over $1 trillion in damages (6.74 trillion yuan; 31.8 trillion New Taiwan dollars) from Meta but also demanding reforms to Instagram and Facebook, including eliminating like counts and infinite scroll features. If Meta ultimately loses this massive lawsuit, it could fundamentally change how young people experience social media. The U.S. states suing Meta are also demanding further changes to how Instagram and Facebook operate for young users. They are asking Meta to: implement parental verification processes for teen users, alter its 'dopamine-manipulating recommendation algorithms,' remove multiple image filters that alter a person's appearance, end auto-playing video content, prohibit the creation of multiple accounts, and stop posting ephemeral or 'disappearing' content such as Instagram Stories. All of these features are central to the current user experience on Meta's platforms. The states argue that these features are designed to keep users, including teens and children, engaged for as long as possible. They claim Meta even uses frequent push notifications to make it difficult for young people to reduce their platform usage—notifications designed to prompt youth to re-engage with the apps. Allegedly, Meta chose to 'exploit' young people by targeting child users to attract them to its platforms, thereby expanding its user base and growing its business. Today, Meta's market capitalization on the stock market is approximately $1.5 trillion. Meta has consistently denied the allegations. 'We strongly disagree with these claims and believe the evidence will show our long-standing commitment to supporting young people,' a female company spokesperson said in a statement. The U.S. states have submitted their claims to U.S. Chief Federal Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of California. She previously presided over the high-profile Elon Musk vs. Sam Altman case and is known for her sharp and direct rulings after nearly two decades on the bench. Social Media as a 'Public Nuisance' In a recent ruling against Meta, a judge in New Mexico fined the company a total of $942 million and ordered changes similar to those now being demanded by other states. Judge Bryan Biedscheid's order included: removing like counts for users under 18 on Instagram and Facebook; banning teens from sending or receiving nude content through these platforms; and restricting app push notifications to specific times of day. The judge also declared Meta a 'public nuisance,' akin to a factory polluting the air, causing 'harmful effects' on public health that affect the entire population. Meta says it will appeal the ruling. While Judge Biedscheid's order only requires Meta to make changes within New Mexico, if the 30 states win their separate lawsuit against Meta, the company will almost certainly need to implement platform changes nationwide. The population of the states involved in the lawsuit accounts for about two-thirds of the U.S. population. Therefore, if Meta does implement these changes, it would mark a significant shift in its platform experience. For example, the 'like' count feature has existed since Meta's inception, when it was still called Facebook and Facebook was its only platform. Today, liking is ubiquitous across social media platforms. It is a primary way people interact with text, images, and videos they see online. However, likes are increasingly seen as a way to fuel negative emotions, especially among young people. Earlier this year, a young woman named Kaley won a lawsuit against Meta. In her court testimony, she described creating dozens of accounts on YouTube and Instagram. She would use the account system to repeatedly like her own posts, hoping to increase engagement with other users and boost her sense of identity and self-worth. Kaley was only nine years old at the time. She recalled feeling deeply discouraged and was later diagnosed with depression at age ten. Research over the past few years has shown that interaction metrics like like counts can lead to feelings of rejection and depression in teenagers. In the states' lawsuit against Meta, the company has submitted over 2 million documents, and lawyers have pointed to Meta's own research indicating that similarity drives 'social comparison'—a psychological behavior where individuals measure their self-worth by comparing themselves to others' images. Meta's internal research shows that this social comparison triggered by Instagram is linked to 'increased loneliness, worsened body image, and negative emotions or feelings.' As Judge Biedscheid stated in his ruling, this is the first time a social media company has been deemed a 'public nuisance.' Meta's platform operations over more than a decade have been part of the worsening 'youth mental health crisis' in New Mexico and elsewhere. Now, lawyers from the other 30 states will urge Judge Gonzalez Rogers to reach the same conclusion. This article was originally written in English. We used artificial intelligence to assist with translation, and it was reviewed by BBC journalists before publication. Learn more about how we use AI.