Meta, 29 states discuss settlement in teen social media trial

Meta Platforms and attorneys general from 29 U.S. states have engaged in settlement discussions amid a high-stakes federal trial in Oakland, California, over allegations that the company deliberately designed Facebook and Instagram to be addictive to teenagers. The talks, reported on August 25 and 26, 2026, come as the trial, which began on August 18, enters its second week.

The lawsuit, led by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey, accuses Meta of violating state consumer protection laws by engineering features like infinite scroll and algorithmic recommendations to encourage compulsive use by young people. The broader coalition of 29 states further alleges that Meta violated the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting personal data from users it knew were children without parental consent and using that data to train artificial intelligence models.

Meta has denied all allegations, stating it has worked hard to protect children on its platforms. The company has argued it could not have misled consumers about addictive properties because "social media addiction" is not a recognized psychiatric condition. Meta has...