Meta stands accused in court of shutting down its own study after it found that quitting Facebook made people less depressed, just as the company reveals it could face a penalty large enough to wipe out its entire market value.
The technology giant disclosed in a court filing on 6 July 2026 that four American states are seeking as much as £1.05 trillion ($1.4 trillion) in penalties over claims it designed Facebook and Instagram to addict young users. That figure sits perilously close to Meta's total stock market worth of roughly £1.12 trillion ($1.5 trillion).
