Meta is currently undergoing a landmark trial in Oakland, California, litigated by four US states — Colorado, California, New Jersey and Kentucky. The case could permanently change how popular social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are designed.
The states accuse the social media giant of intentionally designing its platforms to addict younger users and hiding what it knew about the harmful effects on their mental health, claims Meta has consistently denied.
The trial, which started on Tuesday, has been called the largest consumer protection lawsuit in American history by Kentucky's attorney general, Russell Coleman.
Testimony in the trial's first three days has already produced striking claims about what Meta knew and when.
Whistleblower Arturo Béjar, a former Meta engineering director, testified that the company's public Community Standards Enforcement Reports — which measure how often users are shown content that violates Meta's policies — could be understating the real risk by as much as 100 times, based on internal user surveys that asked people directly about their negative experiences on the platforms.
