Meta child safety trial could have 'astronomical' global impact for Facebook and Instagram

The impact on Facebook and Instagram could be "astronomical" should Meta lose a high-stakes trial regarding the safety and privacy of children on its social media platforms. Meta, the parent company behind Facebook, Instagram and others, faces a major lawsuit today in a federal court in Oakland, California, that could lead to critical changes for the social media juggernaut. A coalition of 29 US states brought a single case against Meta alleging the company violated numerous federal and state child privacy laws - the company strongly denies the allegations. The states, including California and New York, claim Meta contributed to a mental health crisis among children and had deliberately created design features that keep youngsters addicted to social media. It also alleges Meta gathers data from children aged 13 without the consent of their parents, a major breach of US federal law if proven accurate. "This week, we’re in court with the largest consumer protection lawsuit in American history," said Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman in a statement. "We’ll show a jury that Meta concealed what it knew about the harm its products cause young people because looking away was more profitable." The move has been compared to the humbling of US tobacco corporations in 1998, which forced major changes to marketing cigarettes and other products as well as companies agreeing to pay US states for medical expenses related to smoking. "AGs are in the perfect position to get this done," Coleman said. "We did it with the Tobacco Settlement in the 1990s. We did it with the companies behind the opioid crisis. We’ll do it again with Meta." What allegations does Meta face? The lawsuit alleges Meta illegally collected and used data of children aged under 13 who were using its social media platforms. It also claimed the company made decisions in designing its platforms that drove excessive use "and put young users at risk, and lied to users, their families, and the public about the safety of its platforms." The US Attorney Generals allege Meta violated federal and state laws, including the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) as well as the New Jersey Consumer Protection Act. COPPA, introduced in 1998, many years before Meta's founding, requires websites, apps as well as other online services to gain verified parental consent before collecting data from children aged under 13. The lawsuit, originally filed in 2023, also claims "harmful" features on Instagram and Facebook drove excessive use by children and teenagers that caused them to be distracted at school and disrupted their ability to sleep at night, "all the while misleading users, their families, and the public about the existence and severity of these risks." 'Astronomical' consequences Meta lost a similar case in New Mexico and will be forced to make services to its online services as well as pay the equivalent of £855,555,000. Should Meta lose the lawsuit, the consequences could be far more stark for the company. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez told the CNBC following the victory in his state that the consequences would be "astronomical" for the company that generates some 98 per cent of its revenue from online advertising. He added: "This is a state with some 2 million people. If you map that same argument onto California or Florida or Texas or New York, I mean, that’s a potentially massive and a market shifting force." California holds enormous influence and could impose harsher penalties, which includes a major overhaul of how algorithms are implemented. "California matters more than any other jurisdiction in the US," Julia Powles, executive director of the UCLA Institute for Technology, Law and Policy told CNBC. "It’s where they are subject to the greatest legal reach, and it’s a jurisdiction watched around the world." What could ruling mean for UK? Should Meta lose the lawsuit in California, it would not only have implications across the US but will likely extend to the UK as well. The decision would likely "shape ongoing global debates about the extraordinary power and influence wielded by social media companies over infrastructure, behaviour and norms that shape the lives of social media users, and how to ensure that social media companies are held accountable," said Dr Hellen Mukiri-Smith from Loughborough University's Department of Law. She noted while there had been efforts to regulate social media such as the UK's Online Safety Act, regulatory challenges remain. It remains unclear whether politicians and regulators would take steps to regulate the design of social media that protects rights. Following the New Mexico ruling, ex-Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said his government would" study the ruling very carefully." He added the government would trial social media bans and digital curfews in the homes of 300 teens in the UK. Majority of Americans want tougher social media rules Facebook, Instagram and YouTube were the most popular online platforms, according to a November 2025 Pew Research survey. It found 84 per cent of US adults said they had used YouTube, 71 per cent report using Facebook and 50 per cent had accessed Instagram. Smaller numbers use TikTok (37 per cent) and WhatsApp (32 per cent). It also noted fewer used Reddit (26 per cent), Snapchat (25 per cent) and X/Twitter (21 per cent). A Reuters/Ipsos survey of US adults carried out earlier this month found 61 per cent of respondents believed social media firms should face tighter regulation. Some 66 per cent also supported using age-verification to prevent children 16 from accessing social media sites. Social media 'public nuisance' Judge Bryan Biedscheid branded Meta a "public nuisance" following the New Mexico verdict. His order includes banning Instagram and Facebook from counting likes for users under 18. It also bans teens from sending or receiving nude images via the platforms. He added Meta was like a factory that was polluting the air that people breathe and caused "harmful effects" that had impacts on the entire population. Judge Biedscheid's order only applies to New Mexico. Should the lawsuit brought by dozens of state emerge victorious, it could lead to sweeping changes across the entire US. Meta's previous lawsuit loss Mark Zuckerberg's Meta has suffered previous losses amid as more people continue demand tougher social media rules. Earlier this year, a Los Angeles jury handed down a legal defeat against Meta and YouTube over a young woman's childhood addiction to online platforms. The woman, known only as Kaley, was awarded £4.5 million in damages, after a jury found Meta and Google, which owns YouTube, deliberately built addictive platforms that damaged the 20-year-old's mental health. Meta and Google said they would appeal the verdict. Meta's response Meta has strongly denied the allegations in the lawsuit. The company attempted to dismiss the coalition lawsuit in 2024 - an effort which was blocked and in June this year a court fully denied its attempt to terminate the lawsuit. "These lawsuits misportray our company and the work we do every day to provide young people with safe, valuable experiences online," Meta said in a previous statement. "Striking a balance between allowing teens to access the benefits of social media while keeping them safe is one of the most critical questions across our industry. "We have listened to parents, researched the issues that matter most, and made real changes to protect teens online – like introducing Teen Accounts with built-in protections and providing parents with tools to manage their teens’ experiences. "Despite the snippets of conversations or cherry-picked quotes that plaintiffs’ counsel may use to paint an intentionally misleading picture of the company, we’re proud of the progress we’ve made, we stand by our record of putting teen safety first, and we’ll keep making improvements."