Meta Platforms is heading into a major August youth safety trial after saying four U.S. states are seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties over claims that Facebook and Instagram were designed to addict young users and mislead the public about safety.
TL;DR
- California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey are seeking penalties from Meta.
- Meta says the $1.4 trillion demand has no legal or factual basis.
- The August trial will cover COPPA claims and state consumer protection allegations.
- Meta says it has invested in teen safety and parental supervision tools.
Meta said in a court filing that the four states are seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties over allegations that its Facebook and Instagram platforms were designed to addict young users and that the company misled the public about their safety. The case will be heard in Oakland, California, before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.
The states involved in this portion of the trial are California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey. According to Reuters, Meta disclosed the figure in response to filings from the attorneys general on how penalties should be calculated if the states prevail at trial.
Meta has pushed back strongly against the number. In its court filing, the company said, “A sanction of that size has no analog in the history of consumer protection enforcement.” It also said the plaintiffs’ calculations have “no basis in fact or law.”
The states’ filings are sealed, but they previously said in a June hearing that penalties would be calculated by multiplying the number of alleged violations by fine amounts set under state law. The number of violations is based on estimated teens and young users affected by Meta’s actions.
The August trial will cover claims brought under the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, along with the four states’ allegations that Meta violated state consumer protection laws by misleading the public about platform safety. Twenty-nine states have sued Meta in federal court, while another 14 states have filed claims under their own laws, which are expected to be heard separately in February.
Meta has denied the allegations. The company argues that the attorneys general lack evidence showing it misled consumers about platform addictiveness, partly because it says “social media addiction” is not an established psychiatric condition.
The case advanced after Judge Rogers rejected Meta’s attempt to end the litigation before trial. California Attorney General Rob Bonta called that decision a “critical win” and said the lawsuit alleges Meta prioritized profits over children’s safety. California’s Department of Justice said jury selection is set to begin on August 12, with opening statements scheduled for August 18.
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Meta, meanwhile, continues to point to its youth safety work. In May, the company announced new parental supervision tools that consolidate controls across Instagram, Meta Horizon, Facebook, and Messenger. It also said U.S. teens enrolled in Instagram supervision had more than doubled since last year.
The company’s Family Center tools allow parents to manage screen time, adjust privacy settings, view time spent, review connections, and receive certain safety alerts, although Meta says parents cannot view private messages or chat history.
The case adds to a broader wave of legal pressure facing social media companies. Meta, Snap, YouTube parent Alphabet, TikTok parent ByteDance, and others face thousands of lawsuits alleging that platform features knowingly addict children and teenagers while contributing to a youth mental health crisis.
Meta has already faced a setback in New Mexico, where a jury awarded the state $375 million in March after finding that the company misled consumers. A New Mexico judge is still weighing additional damages and possible orders requiring platform changes.
The August trial could become one of the most important tests yet of how far U.S. courts are willing to go in scrutinizing social media design, youth safety, privacy compliance, and consumer protection claims against major platforms.
