Meta faces landmark trial on child privacy

**Janet Jalil** (0:00)
This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Janet Jalil, and in the early hours of Tuesday, the 18th of August, these are our main stories. Amid a growing backlash over the impact of social media on children, Meta prepares for a landmark trial in the US that could see it find well over a trillion dollars. President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, fails to persuade Israel's Prime Minister to drop his opposition to the U.S.-backed Gaza Peace Plan. Fifa sacks its chief operating officer for criticising the president, Gianni Infantino.
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In what's being called social media's big tobacco moment, the tech giant Meta is preparing for a court room showdown stemming from a lawsuit brought by 30 US states. They accuse Meta of numerous violations of federal and state privacy laws for children. Rob Lalka is professor in business at Tunel University in the US.

**Rob Lalka** (1:38)
This is an issue that goes back decades. It goes back to the design that went into the way that these platforms were built.
And features that we all know all too well. The nudges that come to get our attention, the infinite scroll, all those types of things that have been proven to especially affect children.

**Janet Jalil** (1:56)
In a jury trial set to begin in California on Tuesday, not only are the states seeking well over a trillion dollars from Meta. That's a sum that's close to the company's entire market value. But they could also force fundamental changes that would completely change apps like Instagram and Facebook.
This is just the latest in a series of cases brought against the tech giant. Our North America technology correspondent, Lily Jamali, told me more.

**Lily Jamali** (2:28)
This is a case brought by dozens of US states in 2023 This is a bipartisan coalition.
And what we often see on tech issues, including those or especially those that affect children, is states setting their political differences aside and presenting a united front. And that's what we're seeing here. This trial is being held in California, but they're being joined by Colorado, New Jersey and Kentucky in actually arguing the case. So the original complaint from 2023 alleged that Meta incorporated harmful features on Instagram and Facebook to drive engagement among young users, all in the aim of boosting their profits. And then they argued that they misled the public about what they were doing. So there have been other cases from individuals, from school districts, et cetera, but this one comes complete with the legal firepower of several state attorneys general, the top lawyer in their respective states.

**Janet Jalil** (3:24)
If Meta loses, it could face severe consequences. What are the states after?

**Lily Jamali** (3:30)
Yeah, I think the states are after, more than anything, changes to these platforms. Meta owns, of course, Instagram and Facebook, and I mentioned, so we're talking about features like infinite scroll, likes and push notifications, what the states have called a set of psychologically manipulative features. They already have seen the state of New Mexico gain some ground trying to make change.
New Mexico brought a child endangerment case against Meta, and a judge there just ordered that they have to do more rigorous Asian enforcement, eliminate overnight push notifications for users under 18 Those are for users in New Mexico just for the next five years. But there is a blueprint there that I think these other states are very interested in following. Plus, you have this $1.4 trillion that Meta says the states want. I did talk to the California Attorney General about that number. They say talk of money will come later in the process. They say that Meta is basically using that number as a scare tactic before the trial begins.

**Janet Jalil** (4:31)
And Meta is denying that it deliberately tries to make its social media addictive for children.

**Lily Jamali** (4:36)
Right. They call the states claims unsubstantiated. They are basically saying that the states are trying to penalize them for things like age verification, which are difficult across the tech industry.
And then again, back to those trillion dollars plus in damages, Meta calls that financial demand vastly disproportionate. It will all play out in a second phase if the states again are successful.

**Janet Jalil** (5:01)