Four states seek $1.4 trillion in penalties from Meta for claiming the social media giant designed Facebook and Instagram are addictive among children and have hidden information from the public about the harm the apps pose to young users, Meta said in a court filing Monday.
The case is brought by California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey. Meta disclosed the trillion-dollar figure in his response to filings by attorneys general on how penalties should be calculated if the states win at the trial scheduled to begin next month in Oakland, California.
The company said that figure, which is close to Meta’s market capitalization of around $1.5 trillion, was not supported by evidence.
“A sanction of this magnitude has no equivalent in the history of consumer protection enforcement,” the company said in its filing.
JUDGE ALLOWS STATES TO PURSUE CLAIMS THAT META DESIGNED FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM FOR ADDICT CHILDREN
Meta said four states are seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties from the company over allegations that the social media giant designed Facebook and Instagram to make child users addictive. (Getty Images/Getty Images)
Fox Business has contacted Meta for further comment.
The states’ records are under seal, but they said at a hearing last month that they calculate penalties by multiplying the number of violations by the fine amounts established by state law. They said the number of violations is based on the estimated number of young users affected by Meta’s social media platforms.
Nearly 30 states sued Meta federal courtwith most claiming the company violated the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting data about children without proper parental consent.
The lawsuit will focus on all complaints filed under that law, as well as allegations from the four states that the tech giant violated their state laws aimed at protecting consumers by misleading the public about the security of their platforms.
Meta denied the allegations, saying the attorneys general lacked “evidence that she misled the public about the purported addiction of her platforms, because social media addiction is not an established psychiatric problem.”
The company also fended off accusations that it violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act because it marketed Facebook and Instagram to a broader audience and not just children under 13.
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Nearly 30 states have sued Meta in federal court. (Photo illustration by Onur Dogman/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Fourteen other states have filed complaints under their own laws, which will be heard in a separate trial next year.
Late last month, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers denied Meta’s request to dismiss the case, saying factual disputes remained over whether the decision was made. social media platforms were addictive, whether the company falsely denied designing them that way and whether it “partially” marketed the platforms to children.
“We strongly disagree with these allegations and are confident that the evidence will demonstrate our long-standing commitment to supporting young people,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement to Fox Business at the time.
A trial is expected to begin next month in Oakland, California, in a case brought by California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey. (Arda Kucukkaya/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Meta, Snapchat, YouTube and TikTok face thousands of lawsuits in federal and state courts over allegations that they knowingly designed their platforms to create addiction among young users, contributing to a mental health crisis.
New Mexico was the first state to go to trialwith a jury awarding him $375 million in March after finding that Meta misled consumers in the state.
A New Mexico judge is also considering the second part of the state’s case, which seeks additional damages and a court order directing the company to make changes to Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Reuters contributed to this report.
