A version of this story originally appeared in the Oregon Capital Chronicle.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser on Tuesday, along with a bipartisan group of other state attorneys general, filed a federal lawsuit against Meta, alleging the parent company of Facebook and Instagram knowingly designed the platforms to addict children and teenagers.
The complaintjoined by more than 30 other states with Republican and Democratic attorneys general, is filed in the U.S District Court for the Northern District of California, which is in the jurisdiction of Meta’s corporate headquarters in Menlo Park, located in the San Francisco Bay Area. The lawsuit alleges Meta falsely assured the public that its platforms were safe for children and youth, even while knowing they were addictive and harmful to children’s mental health.
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The lawsuit alleges Meta’s business practices violate state consumer protection laws and the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and exacerbates what the U.S. Surgeon General has called a “youth mental health crisis.”
“The deceptive and unfair practices used by Meta have deeply harmed our youth,” Weiser said in a statement. “We must address the insidious impact the compulsive use of Meta’s platforms has had on our young generation. Just like Big Tobacco and vaping companies have done in years past, Meta chose to maximize its profits at the expense of public health, specifically harming the health of the youngest among us.
The complaint also alleges that Meta knew that young users, including children under 13, are active on the platforms, and knowingly collected data from these users without parental consent and targeted them.
The 233-page complaint, much of it drawn from confidential proprietary material, also includes public sources and details that former Meta employees have released. For example, the platform relies upon near-constant alerts and infinite scrolling, all designed with the goal of addicting young people, the complaint alleges.
Those features harm youth’s physical and mental health, depriving them of sleep and interfering with their education, the complaint alleges.
The lawsuit is the outcome of a nationwide investigation. Besides Colorado, other states that have joined the case include: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Other agencies have filed lawsuits in state courts, including the District of Columbia and Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Utah, and Vermont. Florida is filing its own federal lawsuit.
Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Lynne Terry for questions: [email protected]. Follow Oregon Capital Chronicle on Facebook and Twitter.
2023-10-24 23:33:13
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