Meta is confronting one of the most serious legal threats in its history. A jury trial opens this week over allegations that Instagram and Facebook deliberately targeted young users and exposed them to harmful practices.

The case stems from a lawsuit filed in 2023 by 30 US states, including California and New York, which accuse the technology giant of a series of breaches of federal and state law governing children’s privacy protections.

The stakes are enormous for CEO Mark Zukerberg. The states are not only pursuing damages that, according to the lawsuit, could exceed $1 trillion, but are also demanding that Meta overhaul some of the most fundamental features of Instagram and Facebook.

Among other things, they are calling for an end to publicly displayed like counts and to infinite scroll, the feature that allows users to keep scrolling through new content without interruption.

Should Meta ultimately lose a case of this scale, the consequences could fundamentally change how young people in the United States use social media.

Algorithms, Stories and autoplay under scrutiny

The 30 states are seeking far broader changes to how the two platforms operate for underage users.

Among the changes being sought are the introduction of a parental verification system for teenage users, changes to recommendation algorithms which, the states argue, have been designed to manipulate the brain’s reward mechanisms, and the removal of many filters that alter a person’s appearance in photographs.

The states are also calling for an end to video autoplay, a ban on minors creating multiple accounts, and the removal of disappearing posts of the kind used in Instagram Stories.

These are features that sit at the very core of the current Instagram and Facebook user experience.

Source: NewMoney