Meta Defends Making Money at Expense of Broader Portfolios

A lawsuit asking whether the parent company of Facebook and Instagram selfishly puts profits over public health and social well-being aims to destroy the predictability of Delaware corporate law, Meta Platforms Inc. argued Wednesday.

Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster indicated that the question before the Delaware Court of Chancery—whether short-term gains for stockholders should prevail in consideration of any corporate action that “from a societal standpoint is a net-negative”—is one corporate boards can expect to consider more and more.

“We’re now in a world where the vast majority of our market is moving toward duopoly,” Laster said during the hearing ...