2026-08-12T10:01:45.408Z / 路透社
2018年6月20日，美国得克萨斯州埃尔帕索，日落时分女孩们坐在山坡上看手机。路透社/迈克·布莱克
- 各州寻求全国性禁令，强制推行年龄限制并取消无限滚动功能
- Meta称赔偿金额可能高达1.4万亿美元，接近其1.5万亿美元的市值
- 法律专家称此次审判是“生死攸关”的考验
8月12日（路透社）——Meta平台公司
META.O
将于周三在加州联邦法院出庭受审，原告是州总检察长联盟，指控该公司刻意将Facebook和Instagram设计得让儿童成瘾。此案可能令Meta面临巨额赔偿，并迫使其对旗下平台进行全面改革。
这场预计持续七周的奥克兰庭审，将审理科罗拉多州、肯塔基州、加利福尼亚州和新泽西州提出的指控：Meta设计平台以留住年轻用户，并在平台安全性问题上误导消费者。同时庭审还将处理29个州提出的诉讼请求，即Meta违反联邦法律非法收集并使用儿童数据。
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陪审团遴选将于周三进行，开场陈述预计于8月18日开始。Meta创始人兼首席执行官马克·扎克伯格、Instagram负责人亚当·莫塞里预计都将出庭作证。
从潜在赔偿金额和对Meta的影响来看，此次审判是青少年社交媒体诉讼迄今最大规模的考验，正值全球范围内针对社交媒体对青少年用户影响的全面反思之际。
Meta曾表示，赔偿金额可能高达1.4万亿美元，接近该公司1.5万亿美元的市值，但各州总检察长并未公开透露他们可能要求的赔偿数额。
科罗拉多州、肯塔基州、加利福尼亚州和新泽西州的总检察长还请求法官发布禁令，强制Meta实施年龄限制、取消无限滚动功能，并对其平台进行其他改革。
Meta的一位发言人表示，公司强烈反对这些指控，并相信证据将证明Meta长期以来致力于保护年轻人。
“我们听取了家长的意见，与专家和执法部门合作，开展了深入研究以了解最重要的问题，”该发言人在一份声明中说道。
全面反思
各州于2023年提起的诉讼，源于针对Instagram和Facebook对青少年用户影响的多州调查。该调查是在Meta告密者弗朗西斯·豪根披露相关信息后宣布的，她于2021年在美国参议院委员会作证称，Meta知道其产品可能对年轻用户造成伤害，也知道如何让产品更安全，但却选择不做出这些改变，以追求更高利润。
“Meta清楚其平台正在伤害儿童和青少年，但仍继续让孩子们成瘾，正如我们在诉讼中指控的那样，”新泽西州总检察长詹妮弗·达文波特在庭审前的一份声明中说道。“我们的孩子不是可以被变现的数据点。”
路透社/益普索上周公布的一项民调显示，绝大多数美国人——85%——认为社交媒体可能让儿童成瘾，61%的受访者表示社交媒体公司需要更严格的监管。
Meta和其他社交媒体公司正面临来自立法者和法庭的越来越大的压力。周三的庭审是由各州、市政府、学区和个人提起的数千起诉讼中的一起，这些诉讼指控其产品对年轻用户造成伤害。
Meta曾表示，大量诉讼可能严重影响其业务和财务业绩。
已有两起案件进入陪审团审判程序，最终判决均对Meta不利。上周，新墨西哥州一名法官责令Meta支付5.67亿美元赔偿金并对其平台进行改革，认定该公司加剧了该州的儿童心理健康危机。Meta还和解了肯塔基州一所学区提起的诉讼，该案原定于6月开庭审理。
Meta总体上否认这些案件中的指控，称其一直在努力保护其平台上的儿童。该公司辩称，不可能在平台是否成瘾的问题上误导消费者，因为“社交媒体成瘾”并非公认的精神疾病。
法律专家表示，最新的这场审判可能是Meta的关键转折点，最近的法庭败诉增加了该公司面临的压力。
“巨额赔偿判决和法庭对功能的裁决，都可能对社交媒体被告构成生死攸关的威胁，”圣克拉拉大学法学院高科技法律研究所联席主任、教授埃里克·戈德曼说道。
一场不同寻常的审判
周一，Meta试图推迟此次庭审并叫停其面临的数千起其他诉讼的最后一搏失败，美国法院驳回了其关于案件应推迟审理的上诉，称其提起上诉为时过早。
美国地区法官伊冯娜·冈萨雷斯·罗杰斯将主持此次庭审，并在10月庭审结束后发布判决。罗杰斯还曾主持过埃隆·马斯克起诉OpenAI及其首席执行官山姆·奥尔特曼的案件。罗杰斯做出了一项不同寻常的决定：组建一个顾问陪审团，就特定问题做出裁决，以指导她的判决。顾问陪审团非常罕见，仅就法官选定的特定问题给出裁决，但法官可以自由忽略其裁决结果。
除了金钱赔偿外，各州还要求罗杰斯下令在全国范围内对平台进行改革。各州希望Meta对用户实施年龄限制，删除所有使用儿童数据训练的算法和人工智能模型，并取消无限滚动功能和通知功能等。他们还请求法院指示Meta调整其推广内容的算法，优先考虑用户福祉而非参与度，并为年轻用户设定严格的使用时间限制，以及其他多项改革措施。
联邦法院内共有超过3000起由学区、个人及其他方针对Meta、Snap Inc
SNAP.N
、YouTube母公司Alphabet
GOOGL.O
和TikTok母公司字节跳动提起的诉讼，已被集中交由罗杰斯审理。另有超过3300起主要由个人针对这些公司提起的诉讼，正在洛杉矶州法院等待审理。
戴安娜·诺瓦克·琼斯报道，亚历克西亚·加拉姆法尔维和妮娅·威廉姆斯编辑
Meta, 29 states head to court in biggest test yet of youth social media litigation
2026-08-12T10:01:45.408Z / Reuters
Young girls look at their phones as they sit on a hillside after sun set in El Paso, Texas, U.S., June 20, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake
- States seek nationwide order imposing age restrictions and eliminating infinite scroll
- Meta says damages could reach $1.4 trillion, near its $1.5 trillion market cap
- Legal experts describe the trial as ‘existential’
Aug 12 (Reuters) – Meta Platforms
META.O
will face a coalition of state attorneys general in a California federal court trial beginning on Wednesday over claims it engineered Facebook and Instagram to be addictive to children, a case that could expose the company to massive damages and force it to make sweeping changes to its platforms.
The trial in Oakland, expected to last seven weeks, will test Colorado, Kentucky, California and New Jersey’s allegations that Meta designed its platforms to keep young users hooked and misled consumers about their safety. It will also address claims by 29 states that the company illegally collected and used children’s data in violation of federal law.
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Jury selection is on Wednesday, with opening statements slated to begin August 18. Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify, as is Instagram head Adam Mosseri.
In terms of potential damages and implications for Meta, the trial is the biggest test yet of youth social media litigation and comes amid a broader reckoning across the globe over social media’s effects on young users.
Meta has said the damages could be as high as $1.4 trillion, near the company’s market cap of $1.5 trillion, though the attorneys general have not publicly disclosed how much they may seek.
The attorneys general of Colorado, Kentucky, California and New Jersey are also asking the judge to issue an order forcing the company to implement age restrictions, eliminate infinite scroll and make other changes to its platforms.
A Meta spokesperson said the company strongly disagreed with the allegations and was confident evidence would show its longstanding commitment to supporting young people.
“We’ve listened to parents, worked with experts and law enforcement, and conducted in-depth research to understand the issues that matter most,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
BROADER RECKONING
The states’ lawsuit, which was filed in 2023, stemmed from a multistate investigation into Instagram and Facebook’s impact on young users. The investigation was announced following disclosures by Meta whistleblower Frances Haugen, who testified before a U.S. Senate committee in 2021 that the company knew its products could harm young users and how to make them safer, but chose not to make those changes in favor of pursuing higher profits.
“Meta knows its platforms are harming children and teens but continues to keep kids addicted, as we’ve alleged in our lawsuit,” New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a statement ahead of the trial. “Our kids are not data points to be monetized.”
A Reuters/Ipsos poll last week found an overwhelming majority of Americans — 85% — think social media can be addictive for children, with 61% of respondents saying social media companies need firmer oversight.
Meta and other social media companies are facing growing pressure from lawmakers and in the courts. Wednesday’s trial is among thousands of cases filed by states, municipalities, school districts and individuals over allegations that their products harm young users.
Meta has said the flood of litigation could seriously impact its business and financial results.
Trials in the two cases that have already gone to juries resulted in verdicts against Meta, and last week a New Mexico judge ordered the company to pay $567 million and make changes to its platforms after finding the company responsible for fueling a children’s mental health crisis in the state. The company also settled a lawsuit brought by a Kentucky school district that had been slated for trial in June.
Meta has broadly denied the allegations in the cases, saying it has worked to protect children on its platforms. The company has argued it could not have misled consumers about whether its platforms were addictive because “social media addiction” is not a recognized psychiatric condition.
Legal experts said the latest trial could be a pivotal moment for Meta, with recent courtroom losses increasing the pressure on the company.
“Big damage awards and judicial dictates about features both potentially pose existential threats to social media defendants,” said Eric Goldman, a professor and co-director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law.
AN UNUSUAL TRIAL
Meta on Monday lost a last-ditch effort to delay the trial and halt thousands of other lawsuits it is facing after a U.S. court dismissed its appeal of rulings that allowed the cases to move forward, saying it was brought too early.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who also presided over Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, will oversee the trial and issue her decision after it concludes in October. Rogers made the unusual decision to empanel an advisory jury to issue a decision on specific questions that she will use to guide her ruling. Advisory juries, which are very rarely used, give verdicts on specific issues selected by the judge — but the judge is free to disregard their findings in her ruling.
In addition to monetary damages, the states are asking Rogers to order the platforms to make changes nationwide. The states want Meta to implement age restrictions on users, delete all algorithms and AI models made with children’s data, and eliminate features like infinite scroll and notifications. They also are asking the court to direct Meta to alter the algorithm it uses to promote content to prioritize well-being instead of engagement, and set strict time limits for young users, among many other changes.
The lawsuit is one of more than 3,000 lawsuits filed by school districts, individuals and others in federal court against Meta, Snap Inc
SNAP.N
, YouTube parent Alphabet
GOOGL.O
and TikTok parent ByteDance that have been centralized before Rogers. A second group of more than 3,300 lawsuits brought largely by individuals against the companies is pending in Los Angeles state court.
Reporting by Diana Novak Jones, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Nia Williams