New Delhi: Meta is bracing for a monumental legal battle in a federal court, facing severe allegations that its social media platforms are deliberately addictive and actively harming the mental health of children. The tech giant could potentially be hit with an unprecedented fine of up to $1.4 trillion (approximately Rs 133.92 lakh crore).
The hearings for this high-stakes case are scheduled to commence on Tuesday at a federal court in Oakland, California. The trial proceeds after a federal judge recently rejected Meta’s request to dismiss the lawsuit.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will preside over the proceedings, examining accusations brought forward by multiple US states, including California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey. According to media reports and court filings, the states allege that Meta deliberately engineered addictive features to keep young users hooked on its platforms, simultaneously misleading the public about the safety of its apps and violating consumer protection laws.
This current legal battle is directly connected to a broader lawsuit filed by several US states in 2023. The initial filings followed extensive state-led investigations into the company’s safety policies, which reportedly uncovered significant evidence of severe psychological harm being inflicted on children and teenagers using the platforms.
In addition to consumer protection violations, a coalition of 29 states has accused Meta of breaching the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The states allege that Meta was fully aware of the presence of children under the age of 13 on Facebook and Instagram, yet knowingly collected their personal data without obtaining the legally required parental consent.
While the plaintiff states have not officially specified the exact financial penalty they are seeking, Meta disclosed in a pre-trial court affidavit that the states are pursuing fines that could total $1.4 trillion.
The magnitude of this trial is expected to draw Meta’s highest-ranking officials into the courtroom. Company CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram Head Adam Mosseri are both named in the proceedings and may be legally compelled to appear and testify before the court.
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