(AFP) – Social media giant Meta has been in discussions with multiple US states to settle a major child privacy and consumer protection case out of court, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday. With more than three billion users around the world, Meta is fending off accusations by a coalition of 29 states that it deliberately designed its products to hook children and gather their data while misleading the public.
The states are claiming that Meta violated both state-level and federal laws, though the exact allegations vary by state. If Meta loses the case, the states could ask for around $200 billion in penalties, in addition to forcing the tech company to make changes to its products. “Meta Platforms Inc. and state attorneys general have discussed a possible mid-trial settlement,” Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
California, Colorado, New Jersey, and Kentucky are leading the prosecution of Meta from a courtroom in Oakland, just a short drive from San Francisco. Multiple state attorneys general sent out media advisories late Tuesday that they would hold press conferences on Wednesday regarding consumer protections and tech-related announcements. Colorado said it would announce “a major update in a Big Tech case.” Nevada, which is not involved with the trial in California, said it would make an announcement Wednesday regarding a “settlement” with “a leading technology company.”
Representatives for Meta and California Attorney General Rob Bonta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Instagram boss Adam Mosseri took the stand on Tuesday as the trial entered its second week. Mosseri admitted he touted newly launched safety tools for teens without disclosing low adoption rates from early testing several years ago.
Other witnesses have testified over the past week that Meta knew these tools were not effective and even that they were “designed to fail.” Meta founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was expected to testify at some point, as well.
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