The figure surfaced ahead of an August trial in California over claims Facebook and Instagram misled consumers about platform safety and addictiveness.
Meta Platforms said four U.S. states are seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties in a lawsuit accusing Facebook and Instagram of being designed to addict young users and misleading the public about their safety. The amount, disclosed in a Monday court filing ahead of an August trial in Oakland, California, was described by Meta as unsupported by the evidence and without precedent in consumer protection enforcement. California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey are calculating proposed penalties by multiplying alleged violations by fines set under state law, based on the estimated number of teens and young users affected. The August case before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will also cover claims under COPPA (U.S. children's online privacy law) brought by 29 states, while 14 additional states' state-law claims are set for a separate February trial. The dispute is part of a broader wave of litigation against Meta, Snap, YouTube and TikTok over allegations that they knowingly built addictive product features that worsened a teen mental health crisis.