Meta Heads to Court: Multiple U.S. Lawsuits Over Child Safety Failures

- Meta is facing multiple lawsuits in the U.S. for its failure to protect children. - The cases could force major changes in social media. - YouTube, TikTok, and Snap are involved in similar cases.

Adepu Bindu

10 Feb 2026 — 3 min read

Meta Heads to Court: Multiple U.S. Lawsuits Over Child Safety Failures

Meta is in deep waters (legally)! It is facing multiple serious lawsuits in the U.S. that accuse it of not protecting children on its platforms. Currently, many tech companies are walking into the courtrooms for the same. The opening arguments began on Monday in a trial in New Mexico. Notably, the case was filed in 2023 by New Mexico’s Attorney General, Raúl Torrez.

In this scenario, Meta is the only defendant (no other company is involved). The case outlines major issues like allowing online predators to find, contact, and target child users indirectly, citing human trafficking. So, what exactly does the case say? Did Meta respond to it? What could happen to Meta if it loses? For all that, learn more.

What Is Meta Being Accused Of?

According to New Mexico, Meta has clearly failed to protect children on Facebook and Instagram. It is alleged that it allowed kids to access sexually explicit content, child sexual abuse material and exploitative content. And such content has directly or indirectly helped enable human trafficking online and offline.

“We need to have real age verification. We need to have changes to product design so that they don’t connect kids with predators on the platform. We need full disclosures in terms of making their users aware of the ... potential harm and danger,” said New Mexico’s Attorney General, Raúl Torrez.

The Los Angeles Trial: Meta, YouTube, TikTok, & Snap

Such lawsuits are compared to the “Big Tobacco” cases of the 1990s. Back in the days, tobacco companies were accused of knowing their products were harmful yet misleading the public. And now the social media. It includes Meta, YouTube, TikTok, and Snap with allegations like:

These companies knew their apps could harm kids’ mental health
But did not warn the public

In the same case, 18 jurors were finalised last Friday. The opening statements began on Monday (but there's a delay). Instagram head Adam Mosseri will testify on Wednesday. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to testify a week later. TikTok and Snap settled with one of the plaintiffs before trial began. However, Meta has not settled and continues to fight the case.

How Did New Mexico Gather Evidence Against Meta?

There was an undercover operation done on Meta. Part of that was to create a fake social media profile of a 13-year-old girl. And Attorney General Raúl Torrez stated some disturbing findings:

That account was flooded with disturbing images.
It received direct solicitations from predators.
He said the results were “shocking” (and not at all in favour of Meta).

What Could Happen to Meta if It Loses?

Meta could take a big financial blow. But more importantly, he wants real changes, including:

Strong age verification (so kids can’t easily pretend to be adults).
Product design changes so children aren’t connected to predators.
Full transparency, meaning users are clearly warned about possible dangers.

Final Thoughts...

According to CNBC, there's another huge trial coming soon this year in Northern California. And that trial will likely include Meta, TikTok, YouTube and Snap. This could be a landmark trail that leads to many changes in how social media apps are designed. Companies would lose a lot of money. But to confirm that, we'll have to wait. For more updates, keep in touch.