Meta Faces Multi-State Trial Over Child Safety, Zuckerberg to Testify
META is trading near its 52-week low of $520.26 (12% above the low).
Summary
Meta goes to trial in Oakland federal court starting August 12, with jury selection and opening arguments set for August 18. CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri are expected to testify. The states allege Meta designed addictive features and illegally collected children's data, seeking injunctive changes and potentially massive penalties. This follows a $2.4B legal charge in Q2 and prior regulatory pressure from Canada. The seven-week trial could force major product changes and set precedent for similar suits against Google and ByteDance.
Updates
· Benzinga — Meta shares fell 4.08% to $565.76 as opening statements began. States' lawyers walked back the $1.4 trillion damages figure to roughly $200 billion. Verdict possible in early October.
At the time of this announcement, META was trading at $582.80 on NASDAQ in the Technology sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.5T. The 52-week trading range was $520.26 to $796.25. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10. Source: dpa-AFX.