Forty-one states and Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit against Meta on Tuesday, alleging it designed and deployed features to Facebook and Instagram to addict younger users for profit.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleged Meta hid the amount of damage its apps caused to teenagers and youth, including addictive behaviors and physical harm. The suit alleges that Meta designed its products in a way to make them addictive and harmful to younger users.
The suit is the latest effort by officeholders to seek redress from the social media industry for what they claim is a youth mental health crisis.
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“Meta has harnessed powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens. Its motive is profit, and in seeking to maximize its financial gains, Meta has repeatedly misled the public about the substantial dangers of its Social Media Platforms,” the suit reads.
The suit alleges that Meta violated state consumer protection laws by telling users that the platforms are safe for younger users. It asserts that the company should be held culpable for mental and physical harm teenagers experienced due to their activities on both platforms. This harm led to what U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared a “youth mental health crisis,” including increased suicide, damaged families, and increased reports of depression among teenagers.
The suit also alleges that Meta violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act when the company collected data from users 13 and under without parental consent. It also asserts that its platforms’ algorithms push users into “rabbit holes” that keep them clicking away, including by drawing users into content associated with eating disorders, violence, negative self-perception, and body image issues.
State authorities have stepped up to combat the effects that social media companies like Meta may have on younger users. Arkansas and Utah banned children 13 and under from accessing social media and required teenagers 18 and under to get parental approval before accessing the websites. California also passed an Age-Appropriate Design Code to implement additional restrictions on teenage access to Meta’s platforms. These laws have run into legal barriers, with industry groups alleging in challenges that they present threats to free speech and privacy.
Parents and schools have also filed suits against social media platforms over their effects on teenagers.
Meta has attempted to get ahead of parental complaints by adding new tools to allow parents to regulate what their teenagers can see on social media. The new tools have yet to deter the complaints filed by parents and lawmakers alike. It is also working with the Federal Trade Commission to consider a blanket prohibition of Facebook accessing youths’ private data.
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Meta’s practices around teenagers came into focus in 2021 after Frances Haugen came before Congress as a whistleblower and warned about how the platform used algorithms to draw more teenagers onto it.
At least three states have filed suits against TikTok in 2023 over the alleged harm it has caused teenagers.
