SALT LAKE CITY — A judge has scheduled a month-long trial beginning in November in the Utah Division of Consumer Protection's lawsuit against Meta.
The state is suing the social media giant, accusing it of deceptive practices and crafting features that have harmed the mental health of Utah youth, including endless scrolling, short-form videos and other features designed to keep users engaged and serve up ads on Facebook and Instagram. The lawsuit was filed in 2023 and hasn't progressed much until a hearing in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court on Monday.
"The Division’s perspective remains this case can be ready to be tried this fall," Utah Division of Consumer Protection attorney Jimmy Rock told the judge.
But Meta has urged Judge Thaddeus May to set the trial to begin next year. Michael Maya, an attorney for Meta, noted the company is facing similar litigation in other states. Meta also has a pending motion for summary judgment that will be considered in July, where the company will argue for the lawsuit to be dismissed.
"From our perspective, that’s not the right to way to go about this," Maya said of the trial date. "There are a number of things that have to happen before trial."
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But Judge May said he believed it was appropriate to set a trial date. He scheduled a multi-week trial starting Nov. 2.
"I want to set this trial and if, in fact, all of the litigative storms that you describe to come to fruition and if there’s a need to push, we might have to push again," he told Maya. "But I think we can accomplish this."
Utah political leaders — including Governor Spencer Cox — have waged a long-running campaign against social media platforms, accusing them of crafting addictive algorithms that contribute to mental health issues in people. Utah has similar lawsuits pending against TikTok and Snapchat.
