A jury in Santa Fe, New Mexico just started deliberating in what might be one of the biggest social media lawsuits of our time. Meta, yeah, the company that owns Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, is on trial for allegedly lying to users about how safe their platforms actually are for children.

After six weeks of intense testimony from teachers, psychiatrists, state investigators, Meta executives, and even whistleblowers who used to work there, jurors are now deciding whether Meta violated New Mexico’s consumer protection laws. The state’s prosecution is arguing that Meta knew exactly what it was doing: prioritizing engagement and profits over the safety of young people.

Prosecutor Linda Singer made it clear during closing arguments that this wasn’t about accidents or mistakes. “The safety issues that you’ve heard about in this case, weren’t mistakes”, Singer told the jury. “They were a product of a corporate philosophy that chose growth and engagement over children’s safety”. The evidence presented allegedly showed Meta’s algorithms were actively recommending harmful and sensational content to teenagers while the company failed to actually enforce its own minimum age requirement of 13.

Here’s where it gets even more damning: internal Meta research showed that one in three teens experienced “problematic use”, basically addiction, on the platforms. But Meta didn’t disclose that information to the public, according to prosecutors. Instead, company executives like Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri made public assurances about safety that didn’t match what was happening behind closed doors.

Meta’s defense team counters that the company has invested heavily in safety measures, with 40,000 people dedicated to making their apps secure. They argue that no system is perfect and that some harmful content inevitably slips through when you’re dealing with billions of pieces of content daily. Meta’s attorney Kevin Huff also pointed out that the company has disclosed risks in user agreements, on websites, in ads, and on television.

The potential consequences are massive. Prosecutors are asking for civil penalties that could exceed $2 billion, based on an estimated 208,700 monthly users under 18 in New Mexico alone. If Meta loses, it wouldn’t just be about paying fines, there’s a second phase of the trial where a judge could order the company to fund programs designed to address the harms caused to children.

What makes this case particularly significant is that it’s one of the first major social media liability trials in the country. California currently has a similar case in deliberations involving Meta and YouTube. These cases could set a precedent for how thousands of other lawsuits against social media platforms play out moving forward. The jury sitting in judgment is made up of Santa Fe County residents from one of the most politically progressive cities in New Mexico, which could influence how they weigh the evidence presented.