Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones didn’t pull his punches ahead of opening arguments in the multi-state suit against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
The AG said in a statement Monday that Meta “built its platforms with features to intentionally addict children, and the negative impact on their mental health and well-being has been severe.”
“Time and time again, and throughout the course of this lawsuit, we have watched Meta attempt to evade responsibility for the company’s abuses. That ends now,” Jones said. “When you put profits above the health and safety of Virginians, this office will use every legal tool to hold you accountable. The Commonwealth will stand up for Virginians and bring necessary reforms that will help all users.”
The trial opened before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and is expected to last six to eight weeks.
A bipartisan coalition of state AGs filed the suit in 2023, alleging that Meta designed its platforms to “exploit young users’ vulnerabilities, foster compulsive use, and maximize the time young people spend on Facebook and Instagram,” a per a release.
Meta – market cap: $1.5 trillion – has thrown gobs of money at efforts to delay the suit from ever reaching trial, which is why it’s taken three years to get from filing to opening arguments.
The most recent effort to that effect came in June, with petitions to the district court and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to stay the trial that were rejected by both.
Share
Chris Graham
