Meta's business keeps growing despite lawsuits and Zuckerberg's poor public image
US tech giant Meta has lost several child-safety court cases this year and agreed an $18bn settlement with states. Even so, its user numbers and revenue are rising, and its new AI app Muse is drawing millions of users.
Meta, the US technology company behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is facing a string of lawsuits this year alleging that its products were deliberately designed to be addictive to young users. Yet its business is growing: second-quarter revenue was up 28% on the same period last year, and the number of people using some of its apps, including Instagram and WhatsApp, rose 3% year on year. The company is valued at $2tn.
Court cases and settlements
In March, a jury awarded $6m to a 20-year-old California woman who said her use of Instagram and Google's YouTube harmed her mental health. Around the same time, New Mexico became the first state to win a lawsuit against Meta over child safety, with the company fined a total of $942m. Meta disagrees with the verdicts and is appealing both.
In May, Meta settled a case brought by a Kentucky school district, reportedly agreeing to pay $9m. This summer it struck an $18bn settlement with 48 US states, the District of Columbia and three US territories. The company denied wrongdoing but promised two-hour daily limits for young users, night-time blocks and muted notifications during school hours. The deal spared executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, from testifying, and the share price rose 4% after it was announced.
The bet on AI
At the recent Meta Connect event, Zuckerberg presented Muse, an agentic AI app, along with smart glasses and a wrist-worn gadget. Within a month, Muse had more than five million downloads and over three million weekly active users. The app works best when users share highly personal data, so privacy remains a sensitive issue. Zuckerberg promised extra protections, while critics question whether people will trust the company with such information.
