Meta Platforms Inc. is facing a potential penalty of $1.4 trillion in a lawsuit alleging it fueled a teen mental health crisis, a figure the tech giant has described as "outlandish." The company arrived at this sum based on how attorneys general from California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey have proposed calculating penalties if they prevail in the case.
Meta and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg have denied wrongdoing. The company's attorneys stated in a late Monday filing that "a sanction of that size has no analog in the history of consumer protection enforcement," calling the states' proposals "unsubstantiated" and "outlandish."
The lawsuit, to which 29 states are party, accuses Meta of violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which prohibits the collection of data from underage users without parental consent. Plaintiffs further allege that Meta's platforms, Facebook and Instagram, were designed to be addictive for children, contributing to issues such as anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide.
California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey are also specifically targeting Meta for allegedly misleading the public about safety risks associated with its platforms. Meta's lawyers argue that the states' proposed remedies extend beyond the scope of the case and may improperly inflate penalties by double or triple-counting affected teen users based on their daily usage.
While the states' specific penalty proposals are sealed, their attorneys indicated at a recent court hearing that their calculations were guided by local laws and the estimated number of underage users affected in each state. A spokesperson for the California attorney general's office stated, "Our 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 two sides are scheduled to appear in Oakland federal court on August 18. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers previously rejected Meta's attempt to dismiss the case on June 30, citing material factual disputes regarding whether the company's apps were designed to be addictive.
Meta is involved in over 2,400 pending lawsuits from school districts, parents, and governments, with critics likening the situation to the "Big Tobacco moment" for social media. The company has faced recent legal setbacks, including court rulings in California and New Mexico. In one California case, Meta was found liable for contributing to a woman's social media addiction, and in New Mexico, a jury determined Meta failed to protect children from online predators and misled the public about app safety risks. In the New Mexico case, Meta was ordered to pay $375 million in penalties, which the company noted was a fraction of the state's initial request. In contrast, Meta and Google were ordered to pay a total of $6 million in damages in the California addiction case, with Meta responsible for 70% of that amount.