Meta and 29 states discuss mid-trial settlement of teen case
TL;DR
- Meta and attorneys general from 29 states have discussed a mid-trial settlement of the federal teen-addiction case in Oakland.
- AGs told the court penalties could reach around $200 billion, roughly three years of Meta's after-tax profit.
- Jurors will issue an advisory verdict, but Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will decide Meta's liability and any product changes.
Meta and attorneys general from 29 states have discussed a mid-trial settlement of the federal case accusing the company of designing Facebook and Instagram to addict teens, Bloomberg reported. The trial is in its second week in Oakland, California, before District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.
The coalition brought the case in 2023 and is being argued in court by lawyers for California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey. Those four are seeking up to $1.4 trillion in penalties and product changes under state consumer-protection laws. At a hearing last week, the AGs said "the amount could be closer to $200 billion", equivalent to about three years of Meta's after-tax profit.
The structure is unusual. Jurors will issue only an advisory verdict; Gonzalez Rogers herself will decide Meta's liability and any civil penalties or ordered product changes.
The states' theory, in their own summary, is that Meta "improperly captured data from minors, designed its social media platforms to addict children and misled the public about their safety." It is the first case in the federal social-media MDL to reach a jury, according to MDL Update.
Prior coverage in our Meta tracker includes former Meta engineer Arturo Béjar's testimony last week that the company's teen safeguards were "designed to fail."
Originally reported by bloomberg.com
Read the original article →Original headline: Meta and 29 State AGs Discussing Mid-Trial Settlement in Federal Teen Social Media Addiction Case