Meta is facing $1.4 trillion in damages in a social media addiction case brought by four states. Thirty-three states have banded together to sue Meta, alleging that the company was exploiting its young users on Instagram and Facebook for profit, including by collecting data from children without parental consent. Four of those states—California, New Jersey, Colorado and Kentucky—also claim that the company misled consumers about the addictive design features on the platforms, thereby causing mental health problems in children who got hooked from an early age. The damages requested by those four states add up to a whopping $1.4 trillion, Meta said in a recent court filing, a figure that would allegedly go even higher with the other penalties the attorneys general seek to add. The number is high by many standards but especially when compared to the company’s market capitalization, which is just above $1.5 trillion. Meta has denied the allegations, and recently attempted yet failed to get the addiction claims dismissed. In the latest court submission, the attorneys for Meta argued that the $1.4 trillion in damages was unsubstantiated and disproportionate.
“Meta has not found any case, under any cause of action, where one defendant was ordered to pay over one trillion dollars—or any number remotely close to that staggering figure,” the attorneys claim. The states’ filings are sealed, but per Reuters, the penalties were calculated by multiplying the number of violations, aka the rough amount of young users impacted by the addictive design choices, by the fine amounts designated by state law.
