States Accuse Meta of Hooking Kids to Harvest Data as Landmark Trial Opens
Traders weighed legal exposure against a broader market rally as 29 attorneys general accused Meta of harming children and misleading consumers.
- On Wednesday, Meta Platforms stock gained over 1% as a California trial regarding children's data collection resumed, with U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers overseeing accusations from 29 state attorneys general.
- While Meta estimates potential damages could reach $1.4 trillion, Deepwater Asset Management Managing Partner Gene Munster projects about $25 billion in fines over five years, believing the company can absorb costs once cash flow reaches $40 billion to $60 billion.
- Vanderbilt Law School professor Rebecca Haw Allensworth told CNBC she believes Meta is likely to lose, noting that restricting features like infinite scrolling could reshape how the company monetizes engagement.
- Should Meta lose, Allensworth believes the company could still prevail on appeal, where Section 230 protections and First Amendment arguments may ultimately reach the Supreme Court.
- The Verge Editor-in-Chief Nilay Patel suggests this litigation mirrors Microsoft Corp's antitrust battle, while Munster identifies a bigger threat in CEO Mark Zuckerberg's strategic shift toward AI agents and "superbots.
19 Articles
19 Articles
Multiple states accuse Meta of having designed the social network in such a way that it is addictive for children and adolescents
States Accuse Meta of Hooking Kids to Harvest Data as Landmark Trial Opens
Four states walked into a federal courthouse in Oakland, California this week and laid out a stark accusation against Meta. The company that runs Facebook and Instagram deliberately built its apps to addict young users. It knew the psychological toll. Yet it kept the truth hidden while executives talked up safety. The trial that began August 18 could reshape how social media serves minors. California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey lead a coa…
States Accuse Zuckerberg’s Meta of Hooking Children for Profit as Landmark Trial Threatens to Reshape Social Media
States Accuse Zuckerberg’s Meta of Hooking Children for Profit as Landmark Trial Threatens to Reshape Social Media By: Jason Ostedder A landmark courtroom battle that could fundamentally transform the architecture of social media platforms and redefine corporate accountability for children’s online safety began this week in federal court, where prosecutors accused Meta Platforms Inc. of deliberately engineering Facebook and Instagram to fost…
The expert warns that banning social networks for children alone will not solve the problem.
Meta faces a $1.4 trillion threat that could mean ‘turning in the keys and walking away’
It’s no secret Meta is one of the wealthiest companies in the world. Last year, it brought in nearly $201 billion in revenue, and at the end of this June, it was sitting on more than $90 billion in cash and marketable securities. Now, a federal trial underway in Oakland, Calif., is testing what it would actually take to financially hurt a company that big. California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey have accused Meta of misleading the public…
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