A New Mexico judge just ordered Meta to hand over $942 million for the harm it caused to children.
Now Zuckerberg is headed to a federal courtroom in Oakland – and 29 states are waiting for him.
What those states found in Meta's own files could end the company as Zuckerberg knows it.
Meta Faces Federal Trial Over Instagram and Facebook Addiction Claims Against Children
In October 2023, 29 state attorneys general filed a federal lawsuit against Meta in the Northern District of California.
Their core accusation: Meta deliberately engineered Instagram and Facebook to addict children – using infinite scrolling, autoplay video, push notifications, and algorithmic feeds designed to maximize time on screen.
They also alleged Meta violated federal children's privacy law by collecting data from kids under 13 without parental consent.
Families across the country had been saying it for years.
Now the governments of 29 states were saying it in court.
The Internal Documents That Proved Meta Knew Instagram Was Harming Teen Mental Health
The lawsuits followed the documents.
Whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked the Facebook Papers in 2021, revealing Meta's own internal research showed Instagram was damaging the mental health of teenage girls.
Meta knew it – and kept the features running.
Meta executives went to Congress and said there was nothing to worry about.
Then Zuckerberg sat in a Los Angeles courtroom in February and watched a plaintiff's attorney show a jury what his own engineers had written.
"If we want to win big with teens, we must bring them in as tweens."
The jury found Meta and YouTube negligent.
29 State Attorneys General Say Meta Violated Federal Child Privacy Law to Hook Kids on Instagram
The federal trial opening Tuesday in Oakland isn't the first time Zuckerberg has faced a courtroom.
It's the fourth.
New Mexico went first – a jury hit Meta with $375 million in March for violating the state's consumer protection law.
The same judge added $567 million last week for public nuisance – bringing New Mexico's total to $942 million.
A California jury delivered another verdict in March, finding Meta and YouTube negligent in the design of platforms that drove a 20-year-old woman into anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts as a teenager.
Now the four lead states – California, Colorado, New Jersey, and Kentucky – are walking into federal court representing all 29 attorneys general.
Their case: Meta engineered its platforms to hook children and strip their data without parental consent.
The number on the table: $1.4 trillion.
Meta called that number "outlandish."
Chief Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has handled the biggest tech cases in the country.
She's also presiding over Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI.
Before trial began, Meta presented her with seven separate arguments for dismissing the deception claims.
She rejected all seven.
Meta also argued that children's privacy law didn't apply – because the company targets general audiences and has no reliable way to identify which users are minors.
Gonzalez Rogers sent that question directly to the jury.
Meta then asked the Ninth Circuit to delay the trial entirely.
A three-judge panel turned them down Monday – and opening arguments start Tuesday.
Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri could both be called to testify.
No schedule has been set.
Zuckerberg Told Congress Instagram Was Safe While His Engineers Documented Teen Mental Health Harm
Mark Zuckerberg sat before the Senate Judiciary Committee and told lawmakers his platforms prioritize the safety of young users.
Meta researchers were documenting depression, eating disorders, self-harm, and suicide risk in teenage users at the same time.
His engineers were writing internal memos about hooking children before they were old enough to have a credit card.
Meta's algorithms were pulling kids back to the screen – autoplay videos, push notifications, recommendation feeds – because more engagement meant more ad revenue.
Twenty-nine states stopped waiting for Zuckerberg to fix it himself.
Meta is now facing $1.4 trillion in federal damages and court-ordered removal of the very features – infinite scrolling, autoplay, "like" counts – that the company built to keep children on screen.
A verdict could come in October.
Zuckerberg's lawyers will argue none of it caused any harm.
His own engineers already answered that question.
Sources:
- Lucas Nolan, "Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Heads to Court to Face Youth Social Media Addiction Claims from 29 States," Breitbart, August 14, 2026.
- "Meta Faces Up to $1.4 Trillion Reckoning as Youth-Addiction Trial Opens in Oakland," KQED, August 11, 2026.
- "New Mexico Court Orders Meta to Pay $942 Million and Overhaul Protections for Children," New Mexico Department of Justice, August 7, 2026.
- "New Mexico Court Orders Meta to Pay $567M Over Child Mental Health Harm," Fox Business, August 7, 2026.
- "Takeaways: Mark Zuckerberg Testifies for the First Time on Social Media and Children's Mental Health," CNN, February 19, 2026.
- "Jury Finds Meta and Google Negligent in Social Media Harms Trial," NPR, March 26, 2026.
