New Delhi, March 31 -- Last week, a US state court delivered a $375 million verdict against Meta Platforms Inc., finding the company used unfair, deceptive, and unconscionable trade practices by failing to protect children from sexual predators on its platform. In a press release, the Attorney General said that "Meta executives knew their products harmed children, disregarded warnings from their own employees, and lied to the public about what they knew."

As crimes go, that should rank among the most egregious. But here's the context that makes it truly damning: $375 million is less than what Meta earns in a week. In a separate case in Los Angeles, Meta's internal documents read aloud in court coldly strategised "if we wanna win big with...