Shares of Meta Platforms Inc. have been under pressure all year due to questions about its spending on artificial intelligence. But a trial accusing its social media platforms of targeting children goes beyond that, raising existential questions about the future of its core business.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is being sued by a bipartisan coalition of states on allegations of deceiving the public and designing the apps to encourage compulsive use among young users. If it loses the trial, the company says it could face penalties of as much as $1.4 trillion, which is roughly the size of its market capitalization.
