Story of the Week (DR):

Social Media's 'Big Tobacco Moment': Meta Faces $1.4 Trillion Fine for Allegedly Fueling Teen Suicide and Addiction

Meta is being sued by 33 US states, led by California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey.

12 blue/12 red/9 purple

The states allege that Meta deliberately designed Facebook and Instagram to be addictive to children and teens, fueling a youth mental health crisis (including anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide).

They also accuse Meta of violating child privacy laws by collecting data from children under 13 without parental consent.

Meta warned a federal court that it could face up to $1.4T in penalties if the states prevail at the upcoming trial (set for August 18, 2026). Meta extrapolated this massive figure—which is roughly equivalent to the company's entire stock market value—based on the methodology proposed by the lead states for calculating damages.

Meta calls the penalty "outlandish" and "unsubstantiated," arguing it has no precedent in consumer protection history: 'A sanction of that size has no analog in the history of consumer protection enforcement.' The company accuses the states of improperly multiplying penalties (e.g., stacking fines based on daily usage time). Meta denies the allegations, asserting its platforms have extensive safety tools and that the claims are unmoored from actual unfair practices.

‘I Don't Think I'm Ever Going to Stop,' Says Mark Zuckerberg. Even With 'Infinite Money,' He Has No Plans to Retreat to His Massive Hawaii Estate

Meta found to breach EU laws with 'addictive' Instagram, Facebook designs

Instagram and Facebook’s “addictive” designs have put Meta in breach of the European Union’s digital laws, the EU concluded Friday in a preliminary report.

The tech giant violated the EU’s Digital Services Act by failing to adequately consider the risks associated with design features that affected the physical well-being of its users, including minors and vulnerable adults, the European Commission said.

These features include infinite scroll, which constantly shows fresh content, autoplay, push notifications and highly personalized recommendation systems — feeding users’ compulsion to continue using platforms and putting them into “autopilot mode.”

The EU Commission also accused Meta of ignoring available information about how much time young people are spending on Instagram or Facebook at night, and how different types of content formats, from reels to stories, could lead to excessive use of its services.

Meta said, “We disagree with these preliminary findings.”

New Zealand Moves To Ban Climate Change Litigation. Will The U.S. Follow?

New Zealand has proposed a bill to limit the ability of individuals to sue high greenhouse gas emitters over the impacts of climate change, relying instead on the enforcement measures taken by the government. The bill appears poised to pass.

The women who wouldn’t let climate data disappear MM

After losing their jobs at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Rebecca Lindsey, her sister Mary and colleague Anna Eshelman teamed up to rebuild a pivotal resource the Trump administration took offline

Rebecca Lindsey, a technical writer for NASA–one of 280,000 federal workers fired by Musk/Trump, joined forces with former NOAA employees Anna Eshelman, and Mary Lindsey, her older sister, to become the core team behind the deactivated site’s successor, Climate.us, preserving over 15 years of key climate data and resources.

Elon Musk says he always wanted his SpaceX employees to get rich — and now thousands of them are millionaires

Elon Musk's 'Chainsaw for Bureaucracy' Just Left an $11 Billion Budget Hole as Trump Rehires Staff

The trove features key maps, educational materials and climate indicator reports, including the now-deleted Fifth National Climate Assessment, the government’s most comprehensive analysis of climate change that was at risk of being lost to the public

Jersey Mike’s $12 billion IPO filing reveals a $50 million payday for the founder’s stepson and a $41 million jet

Family members of founder Peter Cancro were employed Jersey Mike’s in various roles and received compensation in excess of $120,000 from the Company as follows for the years ended December 28, 2025 and December 31, 2024 and 2023:

John Cancro, Mr. Cancro’s brother, received total compensation of approximately $20,019,231, $519,231 and $500,000, respectively;

Paul J. Cancro, Mr. Cancro’s son, received total compensation of approximately $8,001, $216,022 and $208,023, respectively;

Robert Cancro, Mr. Cancro’s son, received total compensation of approximately $38,462, $1,038,462 and $1,000,000, respectively;

Tatiana Cancro, Mr. Cancro’s wife, received total compensation of approximately $11,538, $311,539 and $300,000, respectively;

Caroline Jones, Mr. Cancro’s daughter, received total compensation of approximately $38,462, $1,038,462 and $1,000,000, respectively;

Alexandra Powers, Mr. Cancro’s sister-in-law, received total compensation of approximately $0, $1,165,437 and $0;

Daniel Powers, Mr. Cancro’s brother-in-law, received total compensation of approximately $30,213,462, $1,793,952 and $0;

John Tesauro Jr., Mr. Cancro’s brother-in-law, received total compensation of approximately $0, $0 and $2,429,628, respectively;

Phillip Sivolobov, Mr. Cancro’s stepson, received total compensation of approximately $50,011,538, $311,539 and $276,923, respectively.

GRAND TOTAL: $112M

Stepson Phillip got $51M, brother John got $21M

Other Peter Cancro schwag in 2025:

Got a $41 million jet and an additional fixed amount ...