A landmark federal trial against Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — got underway in California, with 29 states arguing the social media giant knowingly designed its platforms to addict children and teenagers.
Attorneys general from California, New Jersey, Kentucky and Colorado are leading the multi-state coalition against the trillion-dollar company. States claim Meta’s products fueled anxiety, depression and, in some cases, suicide among young users.
Michigan steps back, but stays invested
Michigan withdrew from the lawsuit after early court orders created what the state described as an undue financial burden.
“Our office withdrew from the multistate Meta litigation following early, adverse orders from the Court that we believed imposed overly burdensome litigation costs on the State consistent with Meta’s efforts to weaponize discovery against plaintiffs,” a spokesperson for Nessel’s office said. “At the time we withdrew, we did so knowing other state plaintiffs would continue to litigate the claims against Meta, and that any successful outcome in this case will have a positive impact affecting nationwide changes to Meta’s business model that will benefit Michigan youth.”
The spokesperson added that Nessel has long held grave concerns over the ways social media conglomerates target children and the negative impacts their use has on children.
Nessel has been a vocal supporter of the Michigan Senate’s Kids Over Clicks bill package and is optimistic the case will bring forward many of the reforms already proposed to protect Michigan youth.
What’s at stake
The trial is expected to last six weeks. If the states prevail, Meta could be forced to pay damages. Meta has denied the allegations against it.
Jennifer Tuskal, co-founder of the Michigan Parent Alliance for Safe Schools, said she is watching the case closely while simultaneously working to drive change in Michigan — regardless of how the trial ends.
“This really comes down to responsibility,” Tuskal said. “While parents have a responsibility to guide our kids and set boundaries around technologies, we shouldn’t have to out-engineer some of the most powerful companies in the world just to keep them safe. When they deliberately design products to maximize engagement...”
Tuskal said the trial raises a broader question about corporate accountability.
“Big Tech has operated almost as if they’re untouchable,” she said. “So this trial is asking whether companies should be held accountable when knowingly designing addictive products targeting kids.”
Push for reform in Michigan
Tuskal’s organization has thrown its support behind the Kids Over Clicks package of bills, which has already passed the Michigan Senate.
The legislation would ban tech companies from using minors’ personal data to curate their feeds, make AI chatbots inaccessible to children and force big tech companies to be more accountable.
Tuskal said the approach centers on building protection into the product itself, rather than placing the burden entirely on families.
“It’s all about safety by design,” she said. “So requiring tech companies to build stronger protections for kids into their products from the start instead of putting that entire burden on parents.”
She said the urgency is real and the stakes could not be higher.
“Current and future generations of our children is at stake here,” Tuskal said. “They’ve gotten away with having no accountability for far too long. They need to start having that accountability so that future generations of kids don’t have to grow up in the same environment as the current generations of kids have grown up into.”