Mark Zuckerberg · California · Meta · Facebook · Instagram · The Guardian Technology
Hook, hold, harvest and hide: Meta’s alleged strategy laid out in first week of landmark trial
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Meta’s business can be boiled down to four words that begin with the letter H: hook, hold, harvest, hide, according to a lawyer who is prosecuting the world’s largest social media company.
Key facts
- If the company is found liable, damages could be as high as $200bn, an amount equivalent to the company’s 2025 annual revenue
- Over the course of the trial, the jury is additionally expected to hear from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri
- The star witness to take the stand in the trial’s first week was Arturo Béjar, a safety engineer at Meta who worked there in two separate stints between 2009 and 2021
- After Béjar’s testimony wrapped, the jury heard recorded depositions from Elena Davis and Natalie Troxel, both former user experience researchers for Meta
Summary
The owner of Facebook and Instagram “hooks” in users, “holds” them on its platforms for as long as possible, “harvests” their data and then “hides” the truth from the public, she argued. “Meta’s business model worked especially well for kids,” said Megan O’Neill, a lawyer for the state of California. Her accusation opened the blockbuster trial against the US tech company on Tuesday in Oakland, California, north of Meta’s headquarters in Silicon Valley. Eight jurors heard from O’Neill and attorneys for Meta this week, along with testimony from former employees and a psychologist.