Four US states have accused Meta Platforms of intentionally designing Facebook and Instagram to attract young users, while misleading the public about the platforms’ safety.

According to Meta’s recent court filing, the proposed fines from the states could reach $1.4 trillion, equivalent to the company’s roughly $1.5 trillion market value.

In a lawsuit that began in Oakland in August, California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey have argued that Meta violated state consumer protection laws by creating addictive products for children and young people.

Meta has denied all allegations, saying the proposed fines are unsupported by the evidence and that there is no precedent for such a large penalty in the history of consumer protection laws.