Instagram and Facebook could be changing forever as major trial begins

The changes could be massive

Some 30 US states, including California and New York, claim numerous violations of federal and state privacy laws for children.

The lawsuit by the states was filed in 2023 and it is where the trial stems from.

From Meta, the states are seeking upwards of $1 trillion and are demanding it makes changes to Instagram and Facebook.

These changes include ending “like” counts and infinite scroll.

The fundamental changes that might come to Facebook and Instagram

Meta could force fundamental changes to the way young people experience social media, if it ultimate loses a case of this scale.

The case was described as “the largest consumer protection lawsuit in American history” by one state attorney general.

Kentucky Attorney General (AG) Russell Coleman said: “We'll show a jury that Meta concealed what it knew about the harm its products cause young people because looking away was more profitable.”

“AGs are in the perfect position to get this done. We did it with the Tobacco Settlement in the 1990s. We did it with the companies behind the opioid crisis. We'll do it again with Meta.”

Meta is also being asked by Kentucky and other suing states for many more changes to the way Instagram and Facebook operate for young people.

All the changes that the suing states want from Meta as a company

The states want Meta to:

• Implement a process of parental verification for teenage users
• Change its "dopamine-manipulating recommendation algorithms"
• Remove many image filters that change one's appearance in photos
• End autoplay of video content
• Prohibit the creation of multiple accounts
• End disappearing or "ephemeral" posts, such as Instagram Stories
• All of these features are central to the current user experience on Meta's platforms.

The states say that these features are also designed to keep users, including teenagers and children, on the platforms as often and for as long as possible.

Through things like frequent notifications designed to get young people back on the apps, they claim Meta even makes it difficult for young people to use the platform less.

Meta “chose to exploit” young people in order to hook them on its platforms, so it could grow its user base and expand its business, and this was done by allegedly targeting child users, as per the lawsuit.

The company has consistently denied such claims, as a spokeswoman said in a statement: “We strongly disagree with these allegations and are confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.”