- Four US states are taking Meta to trial in California, alleging it deliberately designed Facebook and Instagram to hook children and illegally collected data on under-13s.
- The lawsuit seeks operational changes and damages that Meta claims could theoretically reach $1.4 trillion, an amount that could force the tech giant into bankruptcy.
- Meta disputes the allegations, stating it has introduced safety features such as private teen accounts, parental controls and artificial intelligence age verification.
- Legal experts consider the maximum financial penalty unlikely, though court-mandated changes to how the platforms operate could be highly consequential.
- The Oakland trial follows a previous legal defeat for Meta in Los Angeles, where a jury awarded $6 million to a young woman harmed by social media addiction.
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