Meta Faces $1.4 Trillion Reckoning In Latest Trial Over Social Media Addiction (engadget.com)
- Reference: 0185023918
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/08/17/1912238/meta-faces-14-trillion-reckoning-in-latest-trial-over-social-media-addiction
- Source link: https://www.engadget.com/2237547/meta-faces-a-1-4-trillion-reckoning-in-latest-trial-over-social-media-addiction/
> The trial kicks off Tuesday in federal court in Oakland, California, after Meta lost a last-ditch attempt to get the case dismissed [2]last week . It could see testimony from top officials at Meta, including Mark Zuckerberg, and could result in record-breaking penalties for the company. The case stems from [3]a 2023 lawsuit brought against Meta from dozens of states, which accused Meta of intentionally creating addictive features and violating consumer protection laws. The action came after a multi-state investigation into the company's safety practices that officials said revealed serious harms to children and teens.
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> During the trial, federal Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will hear claims from California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey that Meta violated state consumer protection laws by intentionally misleading the public about the safety of its apps. Those four states and 25 others are also suing Meta over alleged violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The states allege Meta broke the law because it knew Instagram and Facebook had users under the age of 13 and collected data about them without permission. [...] For Meta, the stakes are especially high because the company is currently facing thousands of other lawsuits that accuse it of harming users. Juries in Los Angeles and New Mexico have already ruled against Meta in high-profile trials that deal with similar issues. (Meta has said it will appeal in both cases.) Another loss could not only be a financial blow, it could give other lawsuits an easier path forward. And while Meta isn't exactly hurting for money, its legal costs are adding up. The company said it spent $2.4 billion on legal costs in the second quarter of 2026 alone.
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> The jury in the case has already [4]been selected and opening arguments are set to begin Tuesday, August 18. The trial is expected to last about six weeks. Unlike in a standard jury trial, the eight-member jury will serve in an "advisory" role, as [5]Law360 explains. The judge will have full power over the final verdict and penalties. Along the way, the trial could also see testimony from some of Meta's most visible executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram chief Adam Mosseri. Both men are likely to testify, according to [6]Reuters . [...] Audio from the trial will be live streamed on the court's [7]YouTube channel .
A spokesperson for Meta issued the following statement: "The State AGs may call this a landmark case, but their limited claims are unsubstantiated and their financial demands are vastly disproportionate. 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," the spokesperson continued. "Rather than sticking to the facts or the law, the states have instead decided to chase an outlandish payout. We stand by our record of creating strong protections for teens, and look forward to making our case in court."
[1] https://www.engadget.com/2237547/meta-faces-a-1-4-trillion-reckoning-in-latest-trial-over-social-media-addiction/
[2] https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-celebrates-yet-another-court-order-denying-meta%E2%80%99s-attempt
[3] https://yro.slashdot.org/story/23/11/14/2347206/social-media-giants-must-face-child-safety-lawsuits-judge-rules
[4] https://www.courthousenews.com/jury-selection-begins-in-states-trial-against-meta-over-youth-social-media-harms/
[5] https://www.law360.com/articles/2512875
[6] https://www.reuters.com/business/meta-29-states-head-court-biggest-test-yet-youth-social-media-litigation-2026-08-12/
[7] https://www.youtube.com/@USDCCAND/featured
Think of the children! (Score:2)
They won't get the 99% that Zuck promised to donate to charity!
Actually my newest funny theory is that Zuck knows what he did and decided that he should try to settle for 1% of the loot while he still has a big bag of loot. What is the REAL value of those Facebook shares? (To be contrasted with another cancer company where the shares have around 10% of that much reality?)
Title correction: (Score:2)
> "Meta Faces $1.4 Trillion Reckoning In Latest Trial Over Social Media Addiction"
"Privacy Rapist Meta[stasize] Faces $1.4 Trillion Reckoning In Latest Trial Over Social Media Addiction"
There FTFY.
Lol unreasonable (Score:2)
"Meta says the states are seeking penalties as high as $1.4 trillion, though the judge has already called that figure "unreasonable."
Allowing Meta to continue to exist is unreasonable.
Pretty simple (Score:2)
Publish the algorithm or go to jail.
They will just do the same thing Microsoft did (Score:2)
Tie it up in court until a friendly administration that has been thoroughly bribed makes it go away.
Then they will put some very very very minor controls in place that don't actually solve the problem and that'll be the end of that. And things will continue to be rotten and we will all wonder why even though we keep voting for absolutely rotten politicians even though we have perfectly good politicians who are boring as fuck but not corrupt.
But hey did you see the latest cool crazy thing Trump said?
Best outcome: End of Meta (Score:5, Insightful)
Honestly, the best outcome from my POV would be the bankrupting of Meta and the end of all of its products and services. Meta is a net negative for humanity.
Sadly, this is very unlikely to happen given the lobbying power of Meta and the reluctance of courts to impose a corporate death sentence.
Re: (Score:2)
Then what comes along to fill the void, after every potential upstart is now spooked that they can be sued out existence because parents can't manage to keep their spawn off of social media?
Re:Best outcome: End of Meta (Score:4, Informative)
> Then what comes along to fill the void, after every potential upstart is now spooked that they can be sued out existence because parents can't manage to keep their spawn off of social media?
The point is that we get back the same void that existed before.
Re: (Score:2)
I would mod you up of I had points.
Re: (Score:3)
> The point is that we get back the same void that existed before.
I don't think its possible to ever put the social media genie back in its bottle. But I am open to trying.
Re: Best outcome: End of Meta (Score:3)
It would help a lot if they had fear.
Of course all of that is a fantasy...
Re: (Score:2)
> It would help a lot if they had fear.
Fear used to be a powerful tool - used to be that a President doing something illegal would get them impeached, and they'd rather resign instead. How times have changed.
Perhaps the guillotine should be brought back for ' treason, bribery, or "other high crimes and misdemeanors" ' .
Re: (Score:2)
> I don't think its possible to ever put the social media genie back in its bottle.
It's basically the raison d'etre for normies to own smartphones. Prior to the advent of social media, only business users and tech enthusiasts wanted to carry around the mutant offspring of a laptop and a cell phone.
> But I am open to trying.
You'd need a regime that is even more authoritarian than China, since even they allow social media (albeit, only the censored and state-approved kinds).
Re: (Score:2)
> The point is that we get back the same void that existed before.
You're only getting that if you move to an Amish community. The likely outcome is age gates and maybe a cigarette pack style warning message.
Re: (Score:3)
Nothing. That's the whole point. It's a void that does not need filling.
We managed to survive without social media before. We'll manage it again.
Re: (Score:2)
> Then what comes along to fill the void, after every potential upstart is now spooked that they can be sued out existence because parents can't manage to keep their spawn off of social media?
This has nothing to do with parents. Meta broke the law by violating privacy laws designed to protect children. It also knowingly created a harmful product for children, did nothing to prevent children from using that harmful product, and ignored the depression, anxiety, and suicides in children their product caused.
Yes, if Meta pays a high price, then future social media companies - and all other companies - have a big incentive to FOLLOW THE LAW.
Re: (Score:2)
> This has nothing to do with parents.
There's a lot of things that are marketed towards kids that aren't so great for them. Entire aisles filled with foods that consists mostly of sugars, for example. It might be something of an old fashioned way of thinking these days, but traditionally parents were assumed to be the safety net between the marketing and the children.
Re: Best outcome: End of Meta (Score:2)
Traditional for who? Some nations make it illegal to advertise to children, which is frankly the only responsible tack to take given that they have not learned discernment yet.
Re: (Score:2)
> Traditional for who?
Traditional, as in earlier generations seemed to have less of a problem with telling their kids no . No, you can't stuff your face full of unhealthy food, no, you're too young for a motorcycle, and no, the TV in your bedroom isn't getting hooked up to receive HBO.
Re: (Score:2)
Meta signed a consent decree with the FTC in 2019 promising they would stop violating their user's privacy. Since then, they have violated user's privacy so many times that the government has lost count of how many times they have violated the consent decree. No, really, there is ongoing legal action against Meta for their actions, but nobody can tell me how many times they've violated the decree!
Re: (Score:2)
Worst outcome: Age verification / identity verification for everyone, parents just give children their ids because all their friends are on social media, same shit but with less anonymity.
Re: (Score:2)
> Worst outcome: Age verification / identity verification for everyone
Yup, if having underage users becomes a liability, they'll just boot off the underage users. Then this also becomes a problem for every other social media network expected to operate under the same legal framework, for fear of that if they don't, they'll also get sued.
I'm really looking forward to age verifying my 6 digit UID /. account, lol.