States take Meta to trial in California in the biggest fight yet over social media harms to children

States have filed a major lawsuit against Meta in California, seeking damages potentially totaling $1.4 trillion and structural changes to the company's operations. The suit accuses Meta of contributing to the youth mental health crisis by deliberately designing addictive features and violating federal law by collecting data on children under 13 without consent. Meta has disputed these allegations, while plaintiffs seek to set a definitive precedent in the case.