TLDR
- A federal trial against Meta opened Tuesday in Oakland, California, brought by four states: California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey.
- States are seeking up to $1.4 trillion in damages, alleging Meta knowingly designed addictive features targeting children.
- Meta is also accused of collecting data on children under 13 without parental consent, violating federal law.
- Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify during the six-to-eight-week trial.
- Meta denies all wrongdoing and says it is proud of its record protecting teens on its platforms.
Meta is heading into what may be the most consequential legal battle in its history.
A federal trial opened Tuesday in Oakland, California, with four states, California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey, accusing the company of knowingly designing addictive features into Facebook and Instagram that harm children.
$META is heading into its biggest social media litigation fight yet, with 29 states alleging Facebook and Instagram were designed to addict children and illegally collect their data.
The potential damages could theoretically reach $1.4T, although legal experts believe anything… pic.twitter.com/PBRDlJ5rfk
— Sam Badawi (@Sam_Badawi) August 17, 2026
The states are seeking damages that could reach $1.4 trillion. To put that in perspective, that number dwarfs Meta’s current market cap.
The four states are part of a broader coalition of 29 states that sued Meta back in 2023. The remaining 25 states are expected to have their own trials later.
Meta stock has been under a cloud of legal risk for some time, with this federal case representing the largest financial threat the company has faced to date.
What the States Are Alleging
Lawyers for the states argue Meta misled the public about the safety of its platforms and deliberately built features designed to keep minors hooked.
They also allege the company collected data on children under 13 without parental consent, a violation of federal privacy law.
Former Meta employee Arturo Bejar is set to testify as an expert witness, despite Meta’s attempts to block him. He is expected to speak for three hours about the company’s internal safety practices and whether Meta misrepresented what it knew publicly.
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman called it “the largest consumer protection lawsuit in American history.”
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will make the final ruling. An eight-person advisory jury is also seated.
Meta’s Recent Legal Track Record
This trial does not arrive in a vacuum. Earlier this year, a New Mexico court found Meta knowingly harmed children’s mental health and ordered the company to pay close to $1 billion in damages, including a $567 million penalty on top of an initial $375 million ruling.
That court also ordered Meta to introduce a 90-hour monthly time limit for users under 18, restrict AI chatbot access, and add mandatory safety warnings.
In March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google liable for a woman’s social media addiction, the first time Zuckerberg testified in court on child safety issues. The plaintiff was awarded $6 million in damages.
Meta has said it disagrees with both rulings and plans to appeal.
The company maintains it has invested heavily in teen safety features, many of which were introduced before these lawsuits were filed.
Zuckerberg is expected to take the stand again during this federal trial. The case is expected to last six to eight weeks, with a verdict anticipated by October.
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