Shares of social media giant Meta Platforms (META) are up today despite testimony from a former Instagram data scientist in the ongoing youth social media trial. More specifically, George Volichenko said that fewer than 0.165% of teen users both enabled the platform's "Take a Break" feature and actually took the suggested 10-minute break. According to Bloomberg, he called the initial results "disappointing" and said a later review showed usage at just 0.2%.

Importantly, Volichenko worked on Meta's mental wellbeing team from April 2022 until February 2023. One of his first assignments was to study "Take a Break," which asks users to step away from Instagram after spending a set amount of time on the app.

At the time, users had to turn the feature on themselves. That appears to have limited its reach. Volichenko testified that even after adoption rose to 0.2%, he considered the improvement just a "drop in the ocean." In addition, Volichenko said that his team had limited freedom to test safety features that could hurt Meta's core performance metrics.

Meta Says Its Teen Safety Tools Have Improved

Unsurprisingly, the company denies allegations that it exploited young users for profit and says it takes teen safety seriously. Meta says it has also changed how its protections work since Volichenko left. Teen accounts for users under 18 now have "Take a Break" and other time-management tools turned on by default. Users under 16 also need parental permission to disable certain protections. Meta said in 2025 that 97% of teens ages 13 to 15 kept their default restrictions in place.

Still, the trial could create a major financial risk if the states win. Indeed, Lawyers for the states have suggested that penalties could reach roughly $200 billion, while Meta has estimated its maximum exposure at as much as $1.4 trillion.

Courts could also require that the firm change how Instagram and Facebook operate. More specifically, the states want changes to Facebook and Instagram that could include removing infinite scroll for younger users and placing limits on certain recommendation features.

What Is the Price Target for Meta?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on META stock based on 38 Buys, five Holds, and zero Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average META price target of $753.41 per share implies 33% upside potential. (See META Stock Forecast).