Landmark online child safety trial against social media giant Meta begins

• Four US states have taken Meta to trial in a California federal court, demanding billions of dollars in damages and structural operational changes.
• Prosecutors accuse Meta of deliberately designing Facebook and Instagram features to addict children, unlawfully harvest data on under-13s, and hide safety risks from the public.
• Former Meta executive Arturo Béjar testified as the first witness, stating the company failed to use its own safety research to properly protect young users.
• Defence lawyers argued Meta actively works to make its platforms safer and claimed the lawsuit merely reflects a disagreement over how improvements are handled.
• The six-week trial presided over by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will feature testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

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