In a landmark California trial that could reshape the global social media industry, a former top Meta engineering director delivered explosive opening testimony Wednesday, alleging that key user safety features on the company’s flagship platforms Facebook and Instagram were intentionally built to underperform, directly contradicting Meta’s public claims of prioritizing teen well-being. The six-week trial, brought by a coalition of U.S. states, accuses the social media giant of deliberately designing its products to hook young users, harvest their personal data, and deceive the public about the harms of prolonged platform use. A ruling against Meta could result in up to $200 billion in penalties, force sweeping overhauls to its core profit-driven business model, and send ripple effects across the entire global technology sector.
Arturo Bejar, the first witness to take the stand, said his experience inside the company confirms Meta has long prioritized ad revenue over user safety by designing systems to keep users scrolling for as long as possible. In a direct rebuke of Meta’s opening defense claims that the company has invested heavily in tools to mitigate harms for young users, Bejar called out the 2021 Instagram feature “Take a Break” — which sends users reminders to step away from endless scrolling — as a textbook example of a safety feature designed to be ineffective. The feature, like many other safety tools Meta highlights publicly, is an opt-in function, requiring users to actively seek it out and enable it rather than activating it automatically for all users. Bejar noted that other harm-mitigation tools, including features meant to curb infinite scrolling and limit compulsive notification pings, were also made optional to avoid reducing user engagement. “Notifications are built and designed in order to bring people back, so they spend more time and get more revenue. They’re not designed for mental health… or the safety of the person,” Bejar told the court.
Meta’s legal team pushed back against the accusations during opening statements Tuesday. Lead Meta lawyer Paul Schmidt acknowledged that some users, including teenagers, have negative experiences on the platforms, but maintained the company has taken meaningful steps to develop safeguards to reduce those risks. “There can be no dispute that Meta has both recognized that people can struggle with their use of social media and tried to come up with tools to help them,” Schmidt said. Court documents show Meta attempted to block Bejar from testifying just days before the trial began, but the presiding judge rejected the company’s motion.
Legal and public health experts have widely framed this case as social media’s “Big Tobacco moment” — drawing a parallel to the 1990s blockbuster litigation between U.S. tobacco companies and dozens of states that resulted in billions in penalties and sweeping industry-wide marketing reforms. Like that historic case, this trial centers on claims of a multibillion-dollar corporation hiding public health harms and targeting vulnerable youth to grow its bottom line. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser noted Tuesday that the case comes after years of congressional inaction on social media regulation, leaving states to pursue accountability. “The tobacco and social media cases both involve public health, and in some cases, marketing to kids that hurt kids,” Weiser said.
California lead prosecutor Megan O’Neill laid out the states’ case during opening statements, framing Meta’s business model as inherently built around addicting users to maximize engagement and data collection. O’Neill said Meta “exploited how kids’ brains work” to keep young users hooked on its platforms. Court filings list Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri as expected star witnesses, though California Attorney General Rob Bonta declined to confirm Tuesday whether Zuckerberg will be called to testify. Ahead of the trial, Meta repeatedly denied all allegations, saying it has collaborated with parents, child safety experts, and law enforcement to build appropriate protections for young users.