California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Tuesday that the landmark child safety trial against Meta is fundamentally about “civil penalties, restitution and distortion,” pushing back on the idea that the case is primarily a financial matter.
“This is not a damages case,” Bonta said at a press conference following the first day of arguments in Oakland’s federal courthouse.
The trial, expected to run six to seven weeks, is being co-led by Bonta and the attorneys general of Colorado, New Jersey, and Kentucky, representing a bipartisan group of 29 AGs. They allege that Facebook and Instagram’s design and features encouraged addictive behavior in children and harmed their mental wellbeing.
Penalty figures in dispute
The question of potential penalties has been a flashpoint. Meta’s lawyers have warned the consolidated case could result in penalties as high as $1.4 trillion, roughly equal to the company’s market cap. But state AGs told Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers last week that $200 billion is a more realistic figure.
Bonta was explicit in distancing the states from Meta’s estimate. “To be clear, we are not asking for $1.4 trillion dollars,” he said, calling it “the highest possible number that could ever be calculated based on that data” and noting that “It’s a figure Meta estimated.” Meta disputes that characterization.
The plaintiffs, Bonta said, “will be asking for a significant financial gain in the form of total existing civil penalties as an important and appropriate part of this case,” though he acknowledged the judge will exercise discretion over the final amount.
The case is being heard by an advisory jury, with Gonzalez Rogers making the final decision — the same structure used in the earlier Elon Musk and Sam Altman trial this year.
Opening arguments
In opening arguments, California Deputy Attorney General Megan O’Neill laid out the states’ claims, which include violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and various state consumer protection statutes. She argued that Meta executives’ public statements conflicted with internal research about the mental health effects on children, echoing themes from other social media cases, including the Los Angeles personal injury proceedings that Meta and YouTube lost in March.
“Meta, one of the largest, most powerful companies in the world, carried out a campaign to deceive, to mislead its users, legislatures, teachers and parents,” O’Neill told the advisory jury.
Paul Schmidt, a Covington & Burling trial attorney representing Meta, disputed that framing. “As you hear the evidence we will be asking you, does this prove the specific things they are claiming?” he asked the eight jury members.
The states are seeking remedies beyond fines, including an order requiring Meta to delete personal data for children under 13 and the algorithms and models trained on that data, and to remove features like infinite scroll, autoplay, and beauty filters.
Wider context
The trial follows a recent court victory against Meta by New Mexico AG Raúl Torrez, in which Meta was ordered to pay $567 million into an abatement fund in the second phase of a child sexual exploitation case. The jury had already ruled in March that Meta must pay $375 million in civil penalties for violating New Mexico’s unfair practices act.
Bonta indicated that Meta is just one target in a broader push by state AGs. He noted several states “already have pending lawsuits now against TikTok,” and expressed concern about YouTube and Snap. Meta is “first in line,” he said, in pursuit of “some industry-wide solutions.”
“Who goes first? Who goes last? Ideally, they all go at the same time,” Bonta said. “That’s not possible. In an ideal world, they would all commit to the same reforms and changes to all kids and keep them safe.”
Source: www.cnbc.com — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/18/meta-attorneys-general-opening-arguments-california-bonta-restitution.html
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