The Meta kids addiction trial opened on Monday in a California federal court, with 29 state attorneys general arguing the company deliberately designed Facebook and Instagram to keep children hooked on its platforms and damaged their mental health.
A jury was seated last week at Oakland’s federal courthouse, according to CNBC, setting the stage for opening arguments to begin.
Meta denies the claims. The company has warned its potential liability could reach $1.4 trillion, a figure it describes as equivalent to its entire market capitalisation. The states put the more realistic damages figure at around $200 billion.
What the attorneys general are alleging in the Meta kids addiction trial
California Attorney General Rob Bonta set the tone in his opening statement.
‘Meta designed a dangerous product for young users, knew it to be dangerous, and then lied to children, families, and the community about how dangerous it was,’ Bonta said. ‘We are ready to hold Meta accountable for its role in fuelling the mental health crisis of American children.’
The plaintiffs argue the company’s platforms were engineered to maximise engagement among underage users, knowingly causing psychological harm.
Anthropic revenue run rate hits $65 billion ahead of expected IPO
Separately, Anthropic’s annual revenue run rate has reached $65 billion ahead of a public listing expected later this year, Bloomberg reported. That figure is seven times its revenues at the end of 2025, when the AI company recorded $9 billion in sales.
If Anthropic’s IPO plans hold, the company is expected to go public in the autumn before either OpenAI or DeepSeek, both of which are also anticipated to offer shares on public markets.
Markets sell off as Strait of Hormuz standoff deepens
Global stocks fell as traders priced in a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude was trading at $91 per barrel.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, demanded the US leave the region and said the strait would remain closed until American commitments under a memorandum of understanding, including lifting sanctions and ending military operations, were honoured, according to Al Jazeera.
‘With both sides still far apart, investors grew pessimistic that the Strait of Hormuz would properly reopen any time soon,’ Henry Allen at Deutsche Bank told clients.
Paul Donovan at UBS said markets’ optimism was being undermined by the near-term outlook. ‘Iran keeps the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed,’ he told clients.
S&P 500 futures were down 0.52%. The index closed down 0.52% the previous session. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 fell 0.55% and the FTSE 100 was down 0.09%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 2.54% and South Korea’s KOSPI lost 1.55%.
Despite the sell-off, Morgan Stanley’s Lisa Shallett and her team noted that second-quarter S&P 500 earnings grew nearly 30% year-on-year on 1.5% real GDP growth, a ratio they described as extraordinary, and said the resilience should have some staying power.
At Goldman Sachs, Ronnie Walker noted that revenue gains were broad-based across the S&P 500. Overall revenues rose more than 6% for all S&P 500 companies; the median company increased 4.2% and non-tech companies by 3%.
The Meta kids addiction trial is expected to run for several weeks, with Meta facing what could be among the largest corporate damages verdicts in US history if the states prevail.
