It causes addiction in children and young people. Lawsuits against Meta
It causes addiction in children and young people. Lawsuits against Meta
Dozens of American states have filed lawsuits against Meta Platforms and its Instagram platform, 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.
Judicial complaints
In a complaint filed on Tuesday, prosecutors in 33 states, including California and New York, said Meta, which also runs Facebook, repeatedly misled the public about the dangers of its platforms, and intentionally pushed young children and teens into compulsive, addictive use. For social media.
“Meta has harnessed powerful and unprecedented techniques to lure, engage, and ultimately trap youth and adolescents,” the complaint filed in federal court in Oakland, California, said. “Its motive is profit.”
Danger to children
Children have long been an attractive demographic for companies hoping to attract them as consumers at ages when they may be most impressionable.
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, interference with education and daily life, and many other negative outcomes."
Disappointment
Meta Company expressed its "disappointment" due to the lawsuit against it from the children's families.
“Instead of working productively with companies across the sector to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps used by teens, prosecutors chose this path,” the company 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.
