This week in cybersecurity from the editors at Cybercrime Magazine

Sausalito, Calif. – Jul. 28, 2026

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Meta is facing penalties of up to a massive $1.4 trillion from four U.S. states that sued the company over the addictive designs of Facebook and Instagram, Reuters reported. Those states — California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey — also accused the company of misleading the public about the safety of those apps. The figure, not previously disclosed, is close to Meta’s $1.5 trillion market capitalization.

Engadget reports that at a court hearing last month, the states said they calculated the penalties by estimating the number of young users affected by Meta’s platforms and multiplying that by fines set by state law. Meta revealed the figure in response to a request from the states’ attorneys general on how penalties should be calculated, but said that the amount was unjustified. “A sanction of that size has no analog in the history of consumer protection enforcement,” Meta’s lawyers wrote in the court filing.

Mark Zuckerberg’s company is facing additional lawsuits from 29 other states not part of the $1.4 trillion suits. Most of those allege that the company violated the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting data from kids without the required parental consent.

A trial is set for August.

Heather Engel, a regular cybersecurity guest expert on the Cybercrime Magazine Podcast, joins our host and Deputy Editor Amanda Glassner for a discussion on the allegations against Meta, and their response.

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Cybercrime Magazine · Talking Cyber. Meta Faces Multiple State Lawsuits. Heather Engel, Strategic Cyber Partners. 

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