Meta faces a $1.4 trillion threat that could mean ‘turning in the keys and walking away’—but the stakes of the case reach across tech

Meta faces a lawsuit from California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey, among 29 state attorneys general, for allegedly misleading the public about risks to young users on its platforms and designing addictive features. The legal case carries an extreme theoretical maximum penalty of $1.4 trillion, but the eight-person jury hearing is advisory, leaving the final decision on liability to the judge.