Attorneys general in 30-plus states have filed lawsuits against Facebook parent Meta, alleging the company's business model is based on keeping young users on the platform and glued to its streaming video content, a platform that harms young people's mental health.
The suit alleges that Meta's assertions that its features are not manipulative and its platform is safe are bogus, and so represent illegal false and deceptive practices.
It also says Meta has violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting personal data on young users without their parents' consent.
The suit says that one way Meta tried to capture young users was to host various child-targeted video content providers on Instagram, including Disney Junior, PBS Kids and Nickelodeon.
It also cited video streaming features including Facebook Live, IGTV (which was dropped from the platform in 2022), Instagram Video and Reels (which merged into Instagram Video).
Aiding the AGs in their suit was information supplied to Congress and others by a whistleblower who provided documents that the AGs say clearly show Meta knew its platform harmed kids.
The AGs have asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to force Meta to stop the practices cited, pay fines likely in the hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars, disgorge ill-gotten gains and much more.“Kids and teenagers are suffering from record levels of poor mental health and social media companies like Meta are to blame,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said.
“Meta has profited from children’s pain by intentionally designing its platforms with manipulative features that make children addicted to their platforms while lowering their self-esteem. Social media companies, including Meta, have contributed to a national youth mental health crisis and they must be held accountable. I am proud to join my fellow attorneys general to stop Meta’s harmful tactics and keep children safe online.”
In addition to New York, states that signed onto the suit, according to James, were Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
