Meta faces US child-privacy trial with up to $1.4 trillion at stake
What's new: States want court orders that could strip likes, infinite scroll and autoplay from Instagram and Facebook for young users.
Meta Platforms went to trial Tuesday in federal court in Oakland, California, over claims by a coalition of nearly 30 states that Facebook and Instagram were built to drive compulsive use among children and teens. The case could expose Meta to penalties as high as $1.4 trillion by the company’s own estimate, though California put a lower figure near $193 billion in a recent hearing. The states are also seeking sweeping product changes, including ending like counts, infinite scroll, autoplay, disappearing posts and some appearance-altering filters for young users. The lawsuit, filed in 2023, alleges violations of federal privacy law and state consumer protection laws. Meta denies the claims and says it has long supported young users.