Meta is facing a major federal trial in Oakland, California, after a coalition of 29 American states accused the technology company of deliberately manipulating Facebook and Instagram to make children addicted to its platforms.
Opening arguments in the joint lawsuit are scheduled for Tuesday, August 18, 2026, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Jury selection began last Wednesday, and proceedings are expected to last approximately seven weeks under presiding Federal Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.
The legal process moved forward after the federal court rejected Meta's final appeal to block the lawsuit. The case was brought to trial following extensive efforts by the California Attorney General's Office, which leads the multi-state coalition.
Meta calculates that maximum statutory fines for the alleged violations could reach up to 1.4 trillion dollars, or 1.2 trillion euros, although the states have not disclosed the exact financial compensation they will seek. Meta described the 1.4 trillion dollar estimate as absurd and unprecedented, noting that the figure virtually equals its total market capitalization.
The parent company explained that the multi-trillion-dollar estimate stems from compounding statutory penalties for consumer protection and privacy violations. Meta argued that this methodology improperly counts individual teenage users multiple times across separate features.
Accusations of Exploitative Product Design
State prosecutors allege that Meta knowingly built platform mechanics intended to trap young users in continuous cycles of screen engagement. The lawsuit focuses on features such as constant push notifications and infinite scrolling, a design technique that automatically loads new content as a user reaches the bottom of a page to prevent natural stopping points.
The complaint also charges Meta with illegally gathering personal data from children under the age of 13 in violation of federal privacy law. Under federal standards, digital services are prohibited from collecting personal information from pre-teens without verifiable consent from a parent or guardian.
According to the prosecution, Meta repeatedly assured parents that Facebook and Instagram were safe for younger audiences, even while the company's internal research demonstrated harmful effects on youth well-being.
In its legal defense, Meta contends that social media addiction is not an officially recognized psychiatric diagnosis, maintaining that the lack of clinical classification undermines the state prosecution's claims. Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg, who founded Facebook in 2004, and Instagram head Adam Mosseri are both expected to testify during the trial.
Demanded Redesigns and Precedents
Beyond monetary penalties, specialized technology publication The Next Web reported that compulsory structural changes requested by the states would represent a severe operational blow to Meta. The proposed remedies include mandatory age restrictions, strict daily screen time limits for minors, the removal of infinite scroll mechanisms, and an end to continuous push notifications.
The multi-state lawsuit follows a similar prosecution Meta previously faced in New Mexico, according to CNN. That individual state action resulted in a court order requiring 567 million dollars, or 489 million euros, in penalties. However, the current litigation marks the first time Meta must confront 29 state governments simultaneously in a single federal proceeding.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers is slated to issue a final verdict by October. The judge is already managing high-profile technology disputes in the Northern District of California, including the federal lawsuit filed by billionaire Elon Musk against artificial intelligence startup OpenAI.
Meta has previously taken steps to adjust youth account settings, including launching enhanced content protections for teenage users in April. Meta Platforms, headquartered in Menlo Park, California, acquired Instagram in April 2012 for approximately 1 billion dollars, building it into one of the world's largest photo and video sharing networks.
