Do Not Go Gentle Into Silicon Valley’s Dark Night

By
David Moscrop

Silicon Valley has built platforms that colonize our attention, prey on children’s vulnerabilities, and damage mental health. Lawsuits that could cost Meta as much as $1.4 trillion are showing that society can use state power to fight back.

Family members and supporters hold a banner with the names of nearly 400 young people who allegedly died from the impacts of social media outside the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building & United States Courthouse in Oakland, California, on August 18, 2026, as opening arguments begin in the Meta trial over a lawsuit brought by US states about social media addiction.

Family members and supporters hold a banner with the names of nearly 400 young people who allegedly died from the impacts of social media outside the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building & United States Courthouse in Oakland, California, on August 18, 2026, as opening arguments begin in the Meta trial over a lawsuit brought by US states about social media addiction. (Godofredo A. Vãsquez / AFP via Getty Images)

A series of trials in the United States involving social media giant Meta could cost the tech behemoth over $1 trillion in fines and reshape social media. The efforts are a reminder that our collective capacity to regulate harms can be slow, lumbering, and imperfect, but occasionally successful. Sometimes nature heals itself. We should celebrate that.

Perhaps the most important trial — and test — will be an action launched by California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey, which began last week. The states, which are seeking $200 billion in damages, argue that Meta and its platforms are addictive, targeted at children, and in violation of privacy and consumer protection laws. Meta, of course, maintains its innocence.

The claim of innocence is rich, and implausible. Last spring, Meta and Google were found liable for causing harm in a personal injury trial in California. That judgment included millions in damages against the companies. In another recent judgment in New Mexico, the judge labeled Meta a “public nuisance” while ordering fines just under a billion dollars and extensive reform measures aimed at curbing child exploitation on platforms.

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