Meta defends itself in $1.4t trial

Meta is in a higher stakes situation than someone prepping an Instagram summer photo dump after not posting for three years. The social media giant is heading to federal court in California today for the start of a trial that could upend how users scroll on its platforms and leave it financially ravaged if it loses.

California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey are suing Meta for up to $1.4 trillion, claiming that the company intentionally got young people hooked on Facebook and Instagram through addictive product design. They also allege that Meta misled the public about product safety and broke a federal child privacy law. Meta has called the claims “unsubstantiated” and maintains that it implemented youth safety features.

Doomscrolling might be doomed

The plaintiffs aren’t just seeking damages that could bankrupt the company if it is found liable, given its $1.5 trillion market cap. They also want the court to force Meta to nix features central to its apps:

• These include the infinite scroll enabled by autoplaying videos, ephemeral content like Instagram stories, and beauty filters.
• The states also want Meta to crack down on kids making multiple accounts and for it to create parental verification for underage users.

In a similar but smaller case, a New Mexico court recently fined Meta $942 million after finding that its platforms were designed to be addictive and ordered it to implement safety features for users in the state. Today’s case demands more sweeping product changes that would potentially have to get implemented nationwide.

Will Meta have to cough up $1.4 trillion? Maybe not, even if it loses. A judge hearing the case said the payout demand is “unreasonable” in a recent pretrial hearing. But she said that Meta’s estimate that it would owe just $4 million “is also unreasonable.” A ruling against Meta could also spur some users to cut back on scrolling its products—imperiling the ad dollars funding its massive AI buildout—and inspire even more lawsuits.—SK