The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Meta rejected accusations by United States states that it intentionally sought to addict children to its Facebook and Instagram platforms in pursuit of profit, at the start of a trial that could reshape the most popular apps on the planet. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that a bipartisan group of 29 states is suing Meta, seeking potentially tens or hundreds of billions of dollars in penalties and changes to how it does business. Four lead states -- California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey -- accuse Meta of designing Facebook and Instagram to hook young users, fuelling anxiety, depression and even suicide, and misleading consumers about the platforms' safety. Jurors will hear claims by all 29 states that Meta violated federal law by improperly collecting and using personal data of children while they used its platforms. Experts say the trial is the biggest legal test yet of social media's effects on young users. Meta and other social-media companies including Snap, TikTok parent ByteDance and YouTube parent Alphabet face thousands of lawsuits by states, municipalities, school districts and individuals over whether their products harm young users.