Meta faced trial arguments on August 19, 2026, in federal court in Oakland, California, over allegations that the company designed its platforms to addict young users and violated consumer and child data protection laws. A consortium of states led by California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey brought the case, claiming Meta deceived the public about the risks posed by Facebook and Instagram.
Arturo Béjar, a former Meta engineer who worked on safety issues at the company for eight years, served as a key witness for the states. Testifying for a second day, Béjar stated that Meta operated under a corporate culture created by CEO Mark Zuckerberg in which employee focus centered on user metrics and engagement while safety concerns were consistently deprioritized. He characterized safety as not a meaningful priority within the organization.
Béjar referenced internal Meta studies documenting risks to teenage users’ mental health and detailed efforts by safety teams to implement protective features that encountered repeated obstacles. He addressed a 2021 Facebook post by Zuckerberg denying that the company prioritized profit over safety, stating that this claim did not align with his experience working inside the organization. Béjar had previously testified before Congress in 2023 about Meta promoting content tied to bullying, substance abuse, and self-harm among teenagers.
The defendant Meta disputed the allegations through its legal representation, arguing that the company had demonstrated sensitivity to teen safety risks and had not deceived the public. During cross-examination, Meta’s attorneys questioned Béjar about the technical complexity of addressing safety challenges and highlighted the qualifications of teams he had collaborated with.
Béjar characterized several Meta platform features—including infinite scrolling, autoplay video, and like counters—as inherently unsafe for teenagers. He further criticized safety features the company introduced, such as Instagram’s quiet mode, as ineffective because they required users to opt in rather than defaulting to protective settings. The trial was anticipated to extend for approximately six weeks.
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