Four States Demand Up to $1.4 Trillion From Meta Over Alleged Social Media Addiction

Four US states are pursuing penalties that could reach $1.4 trillion against Meta for the allegedly addictive designs of Facebook and Instagram. Those states also accused the company of misleading the public about app safety. The sum, previously undisclosed, approaches Meta's $1.5 trillion market capitalization.

Four states seek record penalties based on young users affected. California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey arrived at the total by estimating how many minors were impacted on the platforms and then applying per-violation fines under each state's statutes. The number surfaced in a court document after the attorneys general asked Meta to outline its view on proper penalty calculations.

In its filing the company called the demand unjustified. "A sanction of that size has no analog in the history of consumer protection enforcement," Meta's lawyers wrote.

Additional lawsuits from dozens of other states proceed to trial. The social media giant is also confronting suits from 29 additional states. Most of those target alleged violations of the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act through collection of children's data without parental consent. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will consider those cases together with the four-state action during an August trial.

Fourteen more states filed claims grounded in their own statutes; those matters are scheduled for a separate February 2027 proceeding.

Meta denies addiction claims and points to lack of psychiatric diagnosis. The company has repeatedly rejected the accusations, arguing that "social media addiction" is not an established psychiatric condition. Instagram chief Adam Mosseri once likened the notion to feeling "addicted" to a Netflix show.

The American Psychiatric Association responded that while the term is absent from the DSM-5-TR diagnostic manual, "that does not mean it doesn't exist."

Prior cases show juries finding merit in similar state claims. Juries have sided with states in comparable disputes. New Mexico recently received a $375 million award after a finding that Meta had misled local consumers. Meta and several other platforms also agreed to pay $27 million to resolve a Kentucky school district suit raising parallel allegations. The upcoming August trial will serve as the next major test of these legal theories.