Watchdog Slams States’ Legal Battle Against Meta

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kara Zupkus (224) 456-0257

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance strongly criticized the efforts of 47 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories to hold Meta liable over completely-unfounded accusations that Meta harmed children. The federal trial in the U.S. Northern District of California in Oakland effectively ended on Wednesday, when Meta reached a settlement with the states, district, and territories. According to a report in The New York Times, “the owner of Facebook and Instagram agreed to the financial penalties for violating federal child privacy and states’ consumer protection laws.” While Meta will pay about $12 billion initially, “[t]hat sum increases to $17.1 billion if Snap, TikTok and YouTube also settle with the states and agree to financial penalties and product changes.”

In response to news of the settlement, Ross Marchand, Executive Director of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, offered the following statement:

“Meta should not be penalized for providing innovative services that connect billions of customers around the world. This massive multi-billion-dollar settlement is nothing short of a state-sanctioned shakedown, where aggressive attorneys general have targeted innovative platforms to score political points under the guise of children’s safety. Rather than acknowledging the immense value provided by global communication tools, ambitious politicians have weaponized legal proceedings to thwart the digital domain.

“This senseless litigation is the true source of harm to consumers, not the private platforms the lawsuits are targeting. Imposing crippling financial penalties and feature restrictions will only succeed in chilling innovation and stifling the continuous improvement of consumer services—including investments in children’s safety features.

“Unfortunately, the baseless lawsuits will keep on coming. Meta must still grapple with other lawsuits from school districts and private parties, and the coming months will see trials and ludicrous demands by trial lawyers. It’s time to abandon this destructive playbook of regulation through litigation and allow digital platforms to serve consumers without extortion via the judiciary.”

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The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis, and dissemination of information on the government’s impact on the economy.