Meta Says Four States Want $1.4 Trillion in Penalties at August Youth-Safety Trial
Meta has told a federal court that four US states are seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties over claims it engineered Facebook and Instagram to hook young users, a figure the company put on the record in a filing on Monday.
July 7, 2026 – 10:57 am
Image by: Facebook
According to a filing from Meta, California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey are demanding $1.4 trillion as penalties, a sum nearly equivalent to Meta’s own market capitalisation. This figure emerged in response to the states’ filings on how damages should be calculated if they win their case.
A judge recently cleared the states to try these claims after denying a dismissal request from Meta. Independent estimates suggest that potential payouts could far exceed even Meta’s vast AI budget.
Meta swiftly dismissed the requested amount as "absurd", arguing it is unsupported by evidence in the filing. The states arrived at this total by multiplying the number of alleged violations by fine amounts set in state law, considering the estimated number of affected young users.
The trial is scheduled to begin on August 18th before US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. She previously ruled that genuine disputes exist regarding the apps’ addictive nature and Meta’s misrepresentations about their safety. The case combines claims under the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act with separate allegations from California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey that Meta violated state consumer protection laws by misleading the public about its apps.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers has indicated she plans to seat an advisory jury for at least some of the states’ claims, leaving the final decision on liability and any penalty solely in her hands.
This demand comes against a backdrop of recent courtroom setbacks for Meta, including a New Mexico jury finding this year that the company concealed knowledge of child sexual exploitation and mental health harms on its platforms.