Meta Pushes Back On $1.4 Trillion Penalty Demand In Social Media Addiction Case

Meta Platforms has formally contested a potential penalty of up to $1.4 trillion sought by four American states in a landmark lawsuit accusing the company of designing Facebook and Instagram to be addictive to children. The figure, disclosed in a court filing submitted by Meta on Monday, was calculated by the attorneys general of California , Colorado , Kentucky and New Jersey , the states pursuing the case ahead of a trial scheduled to begin in August in federal court in Oakland.

The proposed penalty is notable for being nearly equal to Meta's current market capitalization of approximately $1.5 trillion. The four states allege that Meta knowingly engineered its platforms with addictive features aimed at young users while publicly misrepresenting the safety of its apps. According to court proceedings, the states arrived at the penalty estimate by multiplying the number of alleged violations involving young users by fines prescribed under their respective state consumer protection laws.

Meta strongly rejected the calculation, stating that a sanction of this magnitude has no precedent in the history of consumer protection enforcement. A company spokesperson described the demand as an outlandish figure untethered from legal or factual basis, adding that Meta would continue defending itself against what it called headline seeking claims. The company also maintains that social media addiction is not a recognised psychiatric diagnosis, an argument that Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the Northern District of California has already declined to accept as grounds for dismissing the case before trial.

The judge ruled last month that significant factual disputes remain unresolved, including whether Meta intentionally designed its platforms to encourage compulsive use among minors, whether the company falsely denied doing so publicly, and whether its features specifically targeted children and teenagers. The upcoming trial will also address claims from 29 additional states largely centred on alleged violations of the COPPA , the federal law requiring parental consent before collecting data from children online. A separate trial covering claims from 14 more states under local laws is scheduled for February 2027.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office intends to pursue the case aggressively, framing Meta's conduct as an example of corporate profit being prioritised over the wellbeing of young users. The case forms part of a broader wave of litigation, with more than 2,000 lawsuits filed nationwide by states, school districts and families alleging harm from social media platforms. Meta has already faced financial consequences in related cases, including a $375 million verdict awarded by a New Mexico jury earlier this year over similar child safety allegations, while a Kentucky school district recently reached a settlement with Meta and other platforms including TikTok , Snapchat and YouTube in a related dispute.