Meta hooked children and misled public, prosecutors say
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Business
August 18, 2026
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OAKLAND, United States (AFP) — Meta hooked and exploited children, a federal court heard Tuesday in the trial of the social media giant on charges that it deliberately made Instagram and Facebook addictive to young users.
In what many experts have called social media’s “big tobacco moment,” a coalition of states is demanding Meta pay $200 billion in penalties for using technology specifically designed to foster addiction among children in a similar fashion to cigarettes.
“Meta’s business model can be summed up with four simple parts: hook the users, hold them for as long as they can, harvest their data, and then hide the truth from the public,” California Deputy Attorney General Megan O’Neill told the court in opening arguments.
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