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International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Kenneth Axl

Social Media's 'Big Tobacco Moment': Meta Faces $1.4 Trillion Fine for Allegedly Fueling Teen Suicide and Addiction

Meta Big Tobacco Facebook United States Mental Health Tobacco Addiction Suicide California Instagram
Meta says teen mental health lawsuit could cost $1.4trn as US states allege Facebook and Instagram addicted children. (Credit: Anthony Quintano from Honolulu, HI, United States, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons)

Meta has warned a federal court in California that it could face up to $1.4 trillion in penalties in a landmark teen mental health lawsuit, arguing in an Oakland filing on Monday that the states' proposed sanction is 'outlandish' and unprecedented in US consumer protection history.

The tech giant, led by chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, is being sued by 29 US states that accuse Meta of fuelling a youth mental health crisis through the design of Facebook and Instagram and of violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting data from under‑13s without parental consent. The multi-state case is due to go to trial in US District Court in Oakland on 18 August.

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