Meta faces $1.4 trillion damages claim in teen-addiction lawsuit

Four state attorneys general – California, New Jersey, Colorado and Kentucky – have filed a lawsuit seeking $1.4 trillion in damages from Meta, alleging that the company’s Instagram and Facebook platforms exploit children for profit and cause mental-health harms through addictive design. The claim is part of a broader effort by a coalition of 33 states to hold the firm accountable for collecting data from minors without parental consent and for misleading consumers about the platforms’ effects.

Meta has denied the allegations and argued that the requested damages are “unsubstantiated and disproportionate.” In a recent filing the company noted that no defendant has ever been ordered to pay a sum approaching a trillion dollars, and that the figure exceeds even the Federal Trade Commission’s record $1 billion penalty by several orders of magnitude.

According to Reuters, the states calculated the penalties by multiplying the number of alleged violations – roughly the count of young users affected – by fine amounts set by state law. The lawsuit is scheduled for a hearing in August, and a ruling against Meta could create a significant financial burden for the firm, whose market capitalization is just above $1.5 trillion.

Meta has already faced other litigation related to youth-targeted practices, including a recent verdict that ordered the company and Google to pay $6 million to a plaintiff who said addictive features on social media worsened her depression and anxiety.