Jury selection begins in states’ trial against Meta over youth social media harms

A federal judge asked potential jurors about their social media use and if they could remain unbiased.OAKLAND, Calif. (CN) — Jury selection for one of the largest multidistrict litigation trials in California history began Wednesday, with a Silicon Valley tech giant claiming their social media products don’t harm adolescents.The blockbuster trial in U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’s courtroom, the first in the multidistrict litigation of over 3,000 active cases, pits tech heavyweight Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, against a bipartisan coalition of 29 state attorneys general.The states claim Meta violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, a federal law that requires online companies to obtain verifiable parental consent for users under 13 years old. Additionally, some of the states claim Meta made deceptive statements about its platforms that likely misled the public.More generally, the plaintiffs say large tech companies intentionally develop social media features, like infinite scroll, to keep young users on their platforms, exposing them to more content and advertising that feeds addictive behaviors that are ultimately detrimental to mental health.During jury selection for eight jurors on Wednesday, Rogers was considerate of people’s time.“I know you all are not here voluntarily,” the Barack Obama appointee said. She explained to potential jurors the mechanics of jury selection and the trial.“We all have bias, the question is do know what you have and can set it aside,” she said. “What we want is jurors who can be critical of the evidence and listen to both sides.”Rogers asked the jury pool if anyone currently own stock in Meta and if they have Facebook or Instagram accounts and how often they use them. Most potential jurors said they either had accounts for one or both.Rogers also asked if any of the potential jurors have a strong negative reaction to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Furthermore, she asked potential jurors whether their children had social media accounts and their role as parents managing their kid’s use.“Do you have a view about if social media companies should install some kind of limit to social media use?” asked Rogers.One of the potential jurors explained they used something akin to a “kid lock” to stop his children from buying things on Facebook marketplace.Another potential juror said that parents are responsible to watch their children’s social media use, but that Meta and other companies “make matters worse.”Similar to the bellwether trial in Los Angeles that also litigated social media addiction claims, some high-profile witnesses like Zuckerberg may be called to the stand.The initial multidistrict litigation consolidated hundreds of personal injury lawsuits on behalf of children and adolescents by school districts, local governments and state attorneys general. These plaintiffs claim Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, Google’s YouTube, ByteDance’s TikTok and Snap’s Snapchat are designed to foster compulsive use by minors.In a joint lawsuit filed in late 2023, the states claimed that Meta built a business model that maximizes young users’ time on its platforms and employs psychologically manipulative platform features. They accused the tech behemoth of publishing misleading reports on user harm and continuing to downplay the negative consequences of its products.Rogers said she expects the trial to last about six weeks.Opening statements for the trial begin Aug. 18.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads