What is Meta being accused of? In a significant United States civil claim, Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is being accused of intentionally making its platforms addictive. The lawsuit claims the social media giant, which is the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, has concealed the mental health risks its platforms allegedly pose to young users. It alleges Meta regularly collects data on children under the age of 13 without parental permission.Lawyers in the trial have claimed numerous violations of federal and state child privacy laws. The trial has said that Meta has targeted children on its platforms with technology designed to turn them into compulsive users to increase advertising revenue.Who is taking the civil case against the social media giant?The suit was filed jointly by 29 US state attorneys in what is known as multidistrict litigation. Among the states involved are New York, California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey. Meta has denied the states’ allegations.The states are seeking $200 billion (€171 billion) from Meta and want the company to make changes to Instagram and Facebook, including removing “like” tallies and reducing the lure of infinite scrolling. Is Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg going to testify?It is not yet clear if Zuckerberg, who founded Facebook in 2004, will testify at the trial. On Tuesday, California’s attorney general said it was “unknown” whether he would take the stand. The Meta chief executive has testified in other cases against the company.Former Meta safety engineer and whistleblower Arturo Béjar has claimed in the trial that he sent Zuckerberg emails expressing growing concern about an alleged disregard of privacy laws. He has alleged Zuckerberg was aware of the harm Meta’s products caused children. Béjar said he raised the issue many times but executives did little to resolve it. What is Meta’s response?Meta denies all allegations in the case. Its attorney Paul Schmidt said in his opening statements that there is “no dispute” people can struggle with social media, but Meta has “come up with tools to try and address that”. He said the company does not allow children under the age of 13 to register accounts on its social networks and it has disabled more than 1 million accounts of young users.[ Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg buys castle in Co WaterfordOpens in new window ]What could happen if the jury finds Meta liable?The legal proceedings could have profound consequences for the social media company.If Meta is found liable, damages could be as high as $200 billion, which is equivalent to the company’s 2025 annual revenue. The lawmakers are also asking the court to force Meta to change the design of its products to make them safer for children, which could have lasting effects on the company’s business model.The trial, which is taking place in Oakland, California, is expected to last at least six weeks.