Thirty-three states sued Meta on Tuesday over allegations that Facebook’s parent company sought to maximize profits by exposing children to potentially harmful social media features and practices.
The states accused Meta of using its Facebook and Instagram platforms to manipulate children’s attention and mislead the public about the dangers of the tech in a scheme violating state and federal law.
“Meta designed and deployed harmful and psychologically manipulative product features to induce young users’ compulsive and extended platform use, while falsely assuring the public that its features were safe and suitable for young users,” the lawsuit said.
The states alleged that Meta’s Facebook and Instagram are violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act in the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
The states said Meta must obtain verifiable parental consent for children younger than 13 years old under the law, but the company is aware of children using Instagram without such consent and similarly has knowledge of young Facebook users too.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone said his company shares the states’ commitment to keeping teenagers safe online and has introduced 30 tools to support children and families on the Big Tech company’s platforms.
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“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,” Mr. Stone said in a statement.
The states bringing the lawsuit include a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general representing Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington state, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Additional lawsuits against Meta flooded in at other courts as well, with attorneys general from dozens of states filing suit on Tuesday.
In Washington, Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued Meta in the D.C. Superior Court.
“Meta designed Instagram with features that lure in and addict kids, putting profits over their well-being,” Mr. Schwalb wrote on Facebook. “This lawsuit seeks to end Meta’s exploitation of young people and remedy the damage it’s done to an entire generation.”
Debate over social media’s addictive capacities will rage as the Big Tech company brawls in the courts. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory on social media and youth mental health in May urging caution.
“The current body of evidence indicates that while social media may have benefits for some children and adolescents, there are ample indicators that social media can also have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents,” the advisory said. “At this time, we do not yet have enough evidence to determine if social media is sufficiently safe for children and adolescents.”
Hundreds of school districts nationwide have also sued social media companies for alleged harm to youth mental health, taking aim at Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok. Legal analysts told The Washington Times this litigation is unlikely to succeed.
Federal lawmakers are looking for legislative remedies to impose new restrictions on children’s social media usage. For example, a trio of Republican senators introduced the Eyes on the Board Act last week to limit youth usage of social media at school by requiring schools to prohibit access in return for federal funding and subsidized services.
Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Ted Budd of North Carolina and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia authored the legislation. They said taxpayers may subsidize harm to children through social media access facilitated by schools.
Social media is not the only part of Meta’s business in policymakers’ crosshairs. The 33 states’ lawsuit asserts that Meta looks to be expanding the alleged objectionable business practices from social media platforms into its virtual reality and communications products, including WhatsApp.
• This article was based in part on wire service reports.
• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.
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