Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is facing a lawsuit filed by 42 attorneys general. The lawsuit alleges that the features offered by these social media platforms are addictive and specifically aimed at children and teens.
A bipartisan group of 42 attorneys general is suing Meta
A group of state attorneys general, representing a range of political backgrounds, announced on Tuesday that they are filing a lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. The lawsuit claims that the addictive features of these social media platforms specifically target children and teenagers. This united legal action signifies a substantial challenge to Meta’s business practices.
Meta is now facing multiple lawsuits on this issue in several districts. Attorneys general from 33 states filed a federal suit against Meta in the Northern District of California, while nine additional attorneys general are filing in their own states, according to a press release from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office. Besides New York, the states that filed the federal suit include California, Colorado, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Washington and Wisconsin.
The lawsuits highlight the bipartisan concern among state law enforcers in protecting children and teenagers from online dangers.
“This is a tough time in America,” Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said at a press conference after the lawsuit was filed. “We have polarization the likes of which we have not seen since the Civil War. And so for all of the attorneys general from both parties, people who frequently disagree very vocally and very publicly, to all come together and to move in the same direction, I think that says something.”
This isn’t the first instance of a wide coalition of state attorneys general joining forces to take legal action against Meta. In 2020, 48 states and territories, along with a separate complaint from the Federal Trade Commission, filed lawsuits against the company on antitrust grounds.
The attorneys general claim that Meta intentionally designed its Facebook and Instagram platforms to increase user engagement, particularly among young users. They achieved this through various methods, such as the design of their algorithms, excessive alerts and notifications, and the implementation of infinite scrolling on platform feeds. Additionally, Meta incorporates features that allegedly have a negative impact on teenagers’ mental health by encouraging social comparison or promoting body dissatisfaction, including features like “likes” and photo filters.
“This is not an action we take lightly,” Colorado AG Phil Weiser said at the press conference,” stated Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser during a press conference. He further said that they recognize that this case will not be resolved quickly, but it holds significant importance. That’s why we have devoted substantial resources from state agencies to address these critical issues that are at the forefront of our national agenda.
The federal lawsuit also alleges that Meta violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting personal data from users under the age of 13 without obtaining parental consent.
The states are pursuing an end to the practices that they view as harmful and seeking penalties and restitution from Meta.
In a statement, James’ office expressed that Meta cannot claim ignorance to the harmful effects of its products, despite their public denials and downplaying. Internal research documents obtained through a whistleblower and made public demonstrate Meta’s awareness of the detrimental impact their platforms have on young users. These studies, which were commissioned by Meta but kept private until leaked, reveal that they have been aware of these serious harms for years.
In 2021, Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee, created considerable controversy when she leaked internal documents from the company. These documents contained research on Instagram’s impact on teenagers. According to The Wall Street Journal, one set of documents revealed that “thirty-two percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse.” After the report surfaced, Instagram stated that it was taking steps to help users focus less on negative content.
“It should have been the practice of Meta to alert people that they were dealing with a dangerous, potentially addictive product before they started using it,” District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb told CNBC in a phone interview. Schwalb is among the attorneys general who filed an individual suit against Meta alleging it violated the district’s consumer protection law.
“We share the attorneys general’s commitment to providing teens with safe, positive experiences online, and have already introduced over 30 tools to support teens and their families. We’re disappointed that instead of working productively with companies across the industry to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps teens use, the attorneys general have chosen this path”
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone
The attorneys general are highlighting several practices of Meta that are also common among other social media companies, such as designing algorithms to maximize user engagement.
They stated that they are focusing on Meta not just because of their prominence in the industry, but also because they have shown clear evidence of misleading the public and making deliberate choices that harm children. Starting with this lawsuit against them seems fitting.
In the previous year, a group of state Attorneys General from both parties announced their investigation into TikTok for similar concerns regarding the safety of children online.
According to Skrmetti, the multistate lawsuit against Meta has the potential to facilitate settlement discussions across the industry. Alternatively, it could lead to a situation where each company is individually driven into good behavior through litigation over time.
According to Schwalb, it is not only Meta that is using features to capture users’ attention. However, he believes that Meta does this extremely effectively, resulting in significant negative impacts on millions of young people and tens of thousands of young people specifically in the District.
Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a common human experience, and it particularly affects adolescents between the ages of 12 and 16. This age group tends to worry about missing out on social events and experiences. Meta leverages this innate human tendency in their system to keep users engaged and addicted.
The bipartisan attorneys general coalition demonstrates the significant interest from law enforcement officials, regardless of political affiliation, in matters pertaining to consumer protection. President Joe Biden has also emphasized the importance of safeguarding children’s safety and mental health online in his State of the Union address.
“I think when you find an issue like this, it’s a good opportunity for AGs to link arms across party [lines] to try to make America a safer place,” Schwalb said.
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