Legal troubles continue to haunt Meta as more than 40 US states filed a lawsuit against the social media giant on Tuesday, accusing its apps Facebook and Instagram of causing “mental and physical harm to young people.”
Prosecutors in the complaint filed before a California court allege that Meta has employed powerful and unprecedented techniques to lure young people and teenagers… ultimately ensnaring them to generate profits.
The plaintiff states accuse the tech giant, headquartered in California, of obscuring how these platforms exploit the most vulnerable users and neglecting the significant harm they cause to the mental and physical health of our nation’s youth.
This legal action marks the culmination of investigations conducted over two years into the platforms, which authorities deem as “addictive.”
Meta responded to the lawsuit in a statement to Agence France-Presse, expressing disappointment that prosecutors had chosen this path rather than working collaboratively with companies in the sector to establish clear and age-appropriate standards through the numerous apps used by teenagers.
A spokesperson for the company stated that the company shared the attorneys general’s commitment to “providing teens with safe, positive experiences online” and had “already introduced over 30 tools to support teens and their families”.
In the fall of 2021, these efforts were launched by the states after a former Facebook employee warned of her former company’s practices.
Engineer Frances Haugen leaked over 20,000 pages of internal documents and testified before various parliamentary bodies, asserting that the social media giant prioritizes profit over the safety of its users.
In response, Meta has sought to reassure authorities by adding tools to help parents monitor their children’s activities or encouraging teenagers to reduce their app usage.
However, the company has also sought to improve its competitive position against TikTok, which enjoys significant popularity among young people.
In this regard, Instagram copied TikTok’s video format by launching “Reels,” dynamic short video clips designed to attract attention and make it easier for users to browse.
According to the lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Facebook and Instagram features are designed to manipulate young users into using the platforms compulsively.
Meta is also accused of deceiving the public by claiming that its products are safe and suitable for teenagers and violating child privacy laws.
Up to 95% of American teenagers aged 13 to 17 say they use at least one social network, with a third of them stating that they use it “almost constantly,” according to the Pew Research Center.
