More than forty US states have sued Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, alleging that its profits harm the mental health of young people because its social platforms are addictive and that it misleads people about the safety of its platforms.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Oakland, the states allege that Meta repeatedly misled the public about how dangerous its platforms were and knowingly encouraged younger children and teenagers to compulsively use social media.
“Research has shown that the use of Meta’s social media platforms is associated with depression, anxiety, insomnia, disruptions in youth education and daily life, as well as many other negative outcomes,” the lawsuit states.
“Meta exploited young users by creating a manipulative business model designed to maximize the time they spend on social platforms even though it harms their health. The motive is profit,” according to the lawsuit, which seeks, among other things, large fines.
Meta misled the public when it denied that its platforms could be harmful to mental health, it pointed out.
American surgeon Vivek Murthy earlier this year called for action so that the environment of social networks no longer harms young users.
“We are in the midst of a national youth mental health crisis, and I am concerned that social media is an important engine of that crisis that we must urgently address,” he said.
Several states have passed laws prohibiting youth from accessing social media without parental permission.
Sector problem?
Meta responded that it was “disappointed” by the lawsuit and that the federal states are not cooperating with a number of Internet companies to create age-appropriate standards.
Meta claims to have developed more than 30 tools in its apps to support teenagers, as well as to make it easier for parents to “shape” online activities.
Meta also finds it disappointing that only that company was singled out, instead of looking for solutions at the level of the entire sector, with rivals such as TikTok, YouTube or Snapchat.
Social networks can also be a place where young people struggling with other problems find support or community, the company from Silicon Valley points out.
The lawsuit is the result of a US-wide investigation, announced in November 2021, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said.
“Our bipartisan investigation came to an important conclusion: Meth is harming our children and teenagers, developing addiction to increase corporate profits,” he said.
“With today’s lawsuit, we draw the line.”
The investigation was launched after Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen released more than 20,000 pages of internal documents that fueled criticism that Meta was putting profits ahead of user safety.
During testimony before US and European lawmakers in 2021, Haugen argued that Facebook has failed to crack down on toxic content and cannot be trusted to change.
Facebook changed its name to Meta later that year, and critics believe that the reason for this was precisely to distance itself from the controversy.
The company’s boss, Mark Zuckerberg, claimed at the time that it was “deeply illogical” that the for-profit social network would deliberately promote content that angered users.