Meta 1 4 Trillion Penalty August Youth Safety Trial

The amount is being sought as damages by the US state attorneys-general of California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey in a lawsuit filed against the social media giant. The previously undisclosed figure was mentioned in Meta’s court filing on Monday, July 6, in response to the attorneys general’s filings on how penalties should be calculated if the states prevailed at trial. It is close to Meta’s market capitalisation of around $1.5 trillion.

The total penalty amount was reportedly ascertained by multiplying the number of violations by fine amounts set by state law. The number of violations is based on the estimated number of teens and young users affected by Meta’s actions, the states said in a court hearing in June.

With the lawsuit expected to go to trial in Oakland, California, in August this year, Meta has argued that the penalty amount is unsupported by evidence.

“A sanction of that size has no analog in the history of consumer protection enforcement. The plaintiffs’ outlandish calculations have ⁠no basis in fact or law,” the company said in a statement, adding that it would continue to defend itself against the states’ demands.

A spokesperson for California Attorney General Rob Bonta said that the lawsuit “alleges Meta has prioritized profits over the safety of kids and fueled the mental health crisis we see impacting a generation of American children. The California Department of Justice looks forward to holding Meta fully accountable at trial in August.”

Meta has denied the allegations, saying the attorneys general have no evidence it misled consumers about its platforms’ alleged addictiveness because “social media addiction” is not an established psychiatric condition, and therefore statements that its platforms were ⁠not addictive could not be false.

The upcoming trial in August will be heard by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who has ruled in several notable tech cases including the Elon Musk versus OpenAI legal battle.

Last month, Rogers rejected Meta’s bid to cancel the trial, saying there remained factual disputes over whether its social media platforms were addictive, whether Meta falsely denied it designed them that way, and whether it “partially” directed the platforms at children.