IN RE: SOCIAL MEDIA ADOLESCENT ADDICTION/PERSONAL INJURY PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION
Issue
In *In re: Social Media Adolescent Addiction*, Meta Platforms argues, through Motion in Limine No. 3, that sworn trial testimony from a parallel New Mexico state-court proceeding — describing Meta's algorithm as automatically and predictably escalating users toward harmful content — should be excluded or restricted at the federal MDL trial. The non-obvious tension is that Meta itself attached the testimony as its own exhibit while simultaneously seeking to seal it, raising the question of whether a platform can control the evidentiary pathway through which damaging insider testimony enters a federal record without triggering the full weight of that testimony against it.
What Happened
Meta filed an administrative motion to seal its Motion in Limine No. 3 and twenty-two accompanying exhibits in the Northern District of California MDL on June 9, 2026, during the pre-trial evidentiary motions phase. Among those exhibits is Exhibit Q — a transcript excerpt from the New Mexico *v.* Meta trial (Feb. 12, 2026) in which former Meta employee Brian Boland testified about the company's algorithmic recommendation system. Boland testified that Meta's machine-learning algorithm operates in a manner no one at the company fully understands, that a single user interaction with sensitive content triggers a documented, self-reinforcing escalation toward harmful material, and that an internal Meta document called "Carol's Journey to QAnon" — showing a new account algorithmically driven to fringe conspiracy content within weeks — was never voluntarily disclosed to regulators and reached Congress only through a whistleblower leak. Boland further confirmed that the same personalized feed driving this content escalation is Meta's primary advertising delivery mechanism. The underlying MIL seeks an evidentiary ruling governing whether this testimony and the related internal research documents may be used at the MDL trial.
Why It Matters
Meta's decision to introduce this transcript as its own exhibit while seeking to seal it is the central strategic puzzle: the company appears to be attempting to manage how damaging insider testimony enters the federal record rather than allowing plaintiffs to introduce it on their own terms and framing. The sealing request is legally vulnerable under *Kamakana v. City & County of Honolulu* because the testimony comes from an open state-court trial and carries a strong presumption of public access, particularly where the underlying MIL bears meaningfully on the scope of trial. If the court denies sealing and resolves the MIL against Meta, Boland's acknowledged combination of documented internal knowledge of predictable harm pathways, the suppression of that knowledge, and the direct revenue linkage to the contested algorithmic design could substantially strengthen plaintiffs' corporate-knowledge, concealment, and punitive damages theories across the MDL.
Related Filings
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