Meta is facing one of the largest lawsuits in the United States related to child safety on social media platforms. A hearing in the case, filed by 29 states against the company, is scheduled to begin on August 18, 2026, in Oakland, California.
California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey will participate in the Oakland hearing as plaintiffs, while the cases brought by the other 25 states will be heard at later dates. The lawsuit targets the company that owns Facebook and Instagram over allegations concerning the platforms’ impact on children’s mental health and the way they are designed to attract younger users and keep them active.
Allegations of Data Collection and Designs That Increase Dependence
Case filings state that Meta collected data from children under the age of 13 without their parents’ knowledge, allegedly violating federal law, according to the source material. The plaintiffs also accuse the company of using advanced techniques to attract young people and then leveraging that attention to increase its revenue.
The states’ demands are not limited to financial compensation. The theoretical claims could reach $1.4 trillion, along with requests to change core features of Facebook and Instagram, including:
- Obtaining parental consent for young users.
- Modifying algorithms that the plaintiffs describe as relying on dopamine manipulation.
- Removing filters that alter people’s appearance in photos.
- Disabling the automatic playback of videos.
- Preventing the creation of multiple accounts.
- Ending the sharing of content that disappears after a period of time, such as Instagram Stories.
Huge Potential Compensation, but Bankruptcy Is Not the Likely Scenario
The case comes after Meta lost two cases this year involving harm to children and young people. The company announced last month that its profits had declined because of legal costs totaling $2.4 billion, increasing attention on the consequences of the new lawsuit if it ends against Meta.
Media reports have considered whether a fine close to $1.4 trillion could lead to Meta’s bankruptcy or transfer ownership of the company to the states, but law professor James Grimmelmann told ABC News that the likelihood of imposing an amount close to that figure is low. He explained that the court has broad discretion in determining the penalty’s value, but that fines at this level would be extraordinarily large.
Meta, for its part, rejected the allegations and said the evidence would show that the company supports young people. In a motion submitted to the Northern District of California on July 6, it also described a penalty of this size as unprecedented in the history of consumer-protection-law enforcement.
What Will Actually Change for Users?
The demands make clear that the dispute is not only about financial compensation, but also about design and operating features whose modification could reshape the experience of younger users. Instagram launched its Teen Accounts feature in September 2024, imposing restrictions and safety measures on children’s and teenagers’ use of the platform. On April 8, 2025, the platform announced that users under 16 would not be able to livestream without parental consent and would also be unable to disable the automatic blurring feature in direct messages.