Los Angeles.- Meta is refuting the accusations made by several state attorneys general in the context of its most recent trial related to the alleged addiction of children and adolescents to its social networks, which seeks compensation of at least 1.4 billion dollars, the tech company told ABC this Thursday.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the Northern District of California will hear arguments from both sides starting next Tuesday the 18th, in a jury trial that has been labeled historic by the 29 state attorneys general, including California’s, who accused the tech giant of designing and implementing features on Instagram and Facebook that create addiction in children and adolescents.
Meta refuted the accusations this Thursday, which it describes as “baseless,” according to what a company spokesperson told the television station.
“Prosecutors do not present evidence that anyone in their states has been deceived, they claim that harmless features —such as having an additional Instagram account— somehow harmed their residents, and they are trying to penalize Meta for industry-wide challenges, such as age verification,” the tech company’s representative elaborated.
The changes requested of Meta
Meta also criticized the financial compensation requested by the plaintiffs, which in this case could reach up to 1.4 billion dollars, describing them as “enormously disproportionate”.
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“Instead of sticking to the facts or the law, the states have decided to pursue exorbitant financial compensation,” stated the spokesperson.
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The company faces a process of about four to six weeks during which Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, are expected to be called to testify.
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In their lawsuit, the states are also seeking changes to Meta’s applications for users under 18, including the autoplay of videos.
The tech giant arrives at the trial in a federal court in Oakland, in Northern California, after several defeats.
Last week, a district court in Santa Fe, New Mexico, ordered Meta to pay 567 million dollars into a youth mental health reparation fund that it must create, because its way of operating is considered to harm the health and safety of adolescents, a ruling that is considered a precedent for the current lawsuit.
