Meta says US states ask for $1.4 trillion fine for 'addiction' to Facebook and Instagram

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Meta Platforms reported, in a document presented to the Court on Monday (6), that four North American states are charging US$ 1.4 trillion in fines on the accusation that the company designed Facebook and Instagram to addict young users and deceived the public about the security of these platforms.
The amount was reported by Meta in response to documents filed by the states' attorneys general, which detail how the penalties should be calculated if they win the trial.
The figure, revealed now for the first time, is close to the company's market value, estimated at around US$ 1.5 trillion. The case will be judged in August, in Oakland, California, in a lawsuit filed by the states of California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey.
Meta claims that the amount is not supported by the evidence in the case.
"A penalty of this size is unprecedented in the history of the application of consumer protection laws", said the company in the document presented to the Court.
In a statement, the company classified the states' calculations as "absurd" and stated that they "have no basis in facts or legislation". Meta added that it will continue to defend itself against the charges brought by the states.
A spokesperson for the New Jersey Attorney General's Office declined to comment on the case. Representatives from the other states did not respond to requests for positioning.
How the states arrived at the value
The documents presented by the states are confidential. During a hearing held in June, however, prosecutors explained that they calculated the fines by multiplying the number of alleged infractions by the penalty amounts provided for in state laws.
According to them, the total number of infractions was estimated based on the number of adolescents and young people allegedly affected by Meta's practices.
In total, 29 states are suing Meta in Federal Court. The majority accuses the company of violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting data from children without adequate parental consent.
The trial scheduled for August, led by federal judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, will review the COPPA-related charges and the four states' allegations that Meta violated their consumer protection laws by misleading the public about the security of its platforms.
Logo of Instagram, Meta, and TikTok.
Reuters
Meta denies all accusations
The company argues that prosecutors did not present evidence that it deceived consumers about the alleged addictive nature of its social networks.
According to the company, "social media addiction" is not an officially recognized psychiatric condition. Therefore, it states that its statements that the platforms are not addictive cannot be considered false.
In addition to these lawsuits, 14 other states filed lawsuits based on their own legislation. These cases will be analyzed in a separate trial, scheduled for February.
Last month, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers rejected Meta's request to cancel the trial.
According to her, there are still questions of fact that need to be analyzed, such as whether the company's platforms were developed to generate dependence, whether Meta falsely denied having adopted this type of design and whether it directed, even partially, its services to children.
After the decision, California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated that Meta put profits above children's safety and violated consumer protection laws. He promised to hold the company "fully" responsible for the role it allegedly played in the mental health crisis among teenagers.
Meta, Snapchat and its parent company, Snap Inc., YouTube and its parent company, Alphabet Inc., as well as TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, face thousands of lawsuits in US federal and state courts.


The lawsuits allege that these companies deliberately developed features capable of making children and teenagers dependent on their platforms, contributing to the mental health crisis among young people.
Several North American states are suing these companies. Part of the actions are being processed in the process led by Judge Rogers, while others are in state courts.
New Mexico was the first state to take the case to trial. In March, a jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million after concluding that the company deceived consumers in the state.
Now, a judge is analyzing the second stage of the action, which seeks additional damages and a court order to force Meta to make changes to Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp.

Source: G1

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