Meta is facing its legal battle, as US state governments have accused Instagram and Facebook of designing addictive platforms to keep young users hooked online. According to CNBC, opening arguments are set to start Tuesday in a federal court in Oakland in a case led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a coalition of 29 state attorneys general.
Notably, the case may have wider financial consequences for Meta. This ruling could eventually force Mark Zuckerberg’s firm to make wider changes to how its social media platforms work.
California Could Be More Important Than New Mexico
The lawsuit comes after Meta faced a huge legal setback in New Mexico. The jury in that lawsuit found Meta liable under the state’s unfair practices law. The state has also secured a court order requiring Meta to make various changes related to child safety and to pay hundreds of millions of dollars.
However, the current California has a much larger population and a far bigger economic influence. “This is a state with some 2 million people,” New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said. “If you map that same argument onto California or Florida or Texas or New York, I mean, that’s a potentially massive and a market shifting force.”
Meta May Face Huge Financial Pressure
According to the report, the 29-state case was filed in 2023 and brings together allegations involving federal and state laws, including the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, and various consumer protection laws.
Meta has argued that the states’ financial demands are excessive and that their claims are not supported by sufficient evidence.
“The AGs offer no proof anyone in their states was misled, claim benign features like having an additional Instagram account somehow harmed their residents, and attempt to penalize Meta for industry-wide challenges like age verification,” Meta said in a statement.
It is noteworthy that states are not only seeking financial penalties. They also allegedly want courts to force Meta to change some of the features and systems used by Facebook and Instagram. According to the states’ court filing, they are seeking permanent nationwide restrictions on Meta’s allegedly unlawful practices. If Meta is found to have violated COPPA, the states want the company to delete personal information belonging to children under 13, along with algorithms and models trained using that data.
According to Reuters, experts say the trial could have major financial and legal consequences for Meta. It is being seen as the biggest test yet of lawsuits related to social media’s impact on young people. The case comes as countries around the world are increasingly examining how social media affects children and teenagers.
Reportedly, Meta has warned that the penalties could be as high as $1.4 trillion, which is close to the company’s $1.5 trillion market value. The attorneys general have not said how much they are seeking, but they told a court hearing last week that the penalties could be closer to $200 billion.