American states filed lawsuits against Meta Platforms and its Instagram unit, accusing it of causing a crisis for young people by affecting their mental and psychological health, by pushing them to become addicted to social media platforms.
In a complaint filed yesterday, Tuesday, prosecutors in 33 states – including California and New York – said that Meta, which also runs the social networking site Facebook, repeatedly misled the public about the dangers of its platforms, and intentionally pushed young children and teens into compulsive use. The addictive nature of social media.
“Meta has harnessed powerful and unprecedented techniques to lure, engage, and ensnare youth and adolescents, and is ultimately motivated by profit,” the complaint filed in federal court in Oakland, California, said.
For Meta, younger consumers are vitally helpful in attracting more advertisers who hope children will continue to buy their products as they grow older.
But the states that filed lawsuits said research showed a link between children’s use of Meta’s social media platforms and their feelings of “depression, anxiety, insomnia… and many other negative outcomes.”
Disappointment
Meta expressed her “disappointment” over the lawsuit. “Instead of working productively with companies across the sector to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps used by teens, prosecutors have chosen this path,” she said.
Eight other US states and Washington, D.C., filed similar lawsuits against Meta on Tuesday, bringing the total number of parties that have taken action against the company, which is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, to 42.
2023-10-25 11:27:29
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