Meta is at present, facing a colossal class-action lawsuit from 41 states as well as the District of Columbia over reported damage to its young users.
Legal practitioners from dozens of states joined a lawsuit, filed in California federal court, claiming that Meta knew its “compulsive” features were injurious and consciously misled the public about the safety of its platform.
In addition to the California suit, attorneys general from eight other states had filed their own claims against the company.
A Californian Attorney General, Rob Bonta had described the filings as part of a “planned effort” to hold Meta accountable for purported misconduct.
A central claim of the lawsuit is that Meta’s business model depends on captivating the attention of young users on Facebook and Instagram at the expense of their wellbeing.
The lawsuit had added that the company “periodically” shared reports hinting otherwise despite “profound internal research” displaying its features were harmful.
It read:
“Meta designed and deployed damaging and psychologically manipulative product features to influence young users’ compulsive and prolonged Platform use, while falsely assuring the public that its features were secured and suitable for young users,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit, of which sections of it are redacted had also called out several other Instagram features, including likes, filters and its recommendation algorithm, alleging that the likes feature promoted “compulsive use” of the app and that filters could also promote eating disorders and body dysmorphia.
The lawsuit also claimed that Instagram’s recommendations were “designed to capitalize on young users’ dopamine responses and build an addictive cycle of engagement.”
This is shown through the app’s algorithms which “continuously present young users with psychologically and emotionally distressing content,” in order to heighten the time spent in the app.
Meta has been under exceptional scrutiny since the revelation of internal documents by a former employee turned whistleblower .
The whistleblower’s disclosures, known as the Facebook Files included internal research that showed that teens struggling with mental health issues reported that Instagram made them feel worse. Meta has tried to downplay this research, saying that it has been taken out of context.
These revelations had ultimately prompted the company to indefinitely pause work on an Instagram Kids app. Meta had also released a range of new safety features for Instagram, including reviewing the default privacy settings and limiting ad targeting features for younger teens. Instagram had also added feature enabling teens to be reminded to “take a break’ from the app and new parental control features.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the lawsuits were the result of a years-long inquiry into Meta spearheaded by Colorado and Tennessee’s attorneys general. Meta had since been in settlement talks with the states, but those discussions have not been progressive.
Meta isn’t the only social media company that’s faced scrutiny over its effect on teenage users.
The Social media scrutiny is not limited to Meta as Snap, TikTok and YouTube have also been castigated by lawmakers for their safety issues.
The California Attorney General Bonta had in his statement about the Meta Lawsuit revealed that there was also “an ongoing investigation into TikTok for harming youths via the consumption of media in its platform.”
