Mark Zuckerberg's biggest legal nightmare yet could cost Meta $1.4T
Meta Platforms said in a court filing on Monday that four states were seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties over accusations that the company designed its Facebook and Instagram platforms to addict young users
Meta Platforms could face an unprecedented $1.4 trillion in penalties after four states accused the tech giant of deliberately designing Facebook and Instagram to addict young users while misleading the public about the platforms' safety.
The eye-watering figure was disclosed by Meta itself in a recent court filing responding to attorneys general's proposed penalty calculations. The total is close to the company's roughly $1.5 trillion market value.
The disclosure comes ahead of a pivotal trial beginning in August in Oakland, California. California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey allege Meta violated state consumer protection laws by creating addictive products for children and teens.
Meta denies the allegations, calling the proposed penalty "unsupported by the evidence."
"A sanction of that size has no analog in the history of consumer protection enforcement," the company said in its court filing.