Meta’s Facebook And Instagram Sued By 41 States Over Claims Platforms Manipulate Children; Billions In Potential Penalties Sought

deadline.com:

It’s the United States vs Mark Zuckerberg over the tactics of social media platforms towards kids, at least the majority of the United States.

Forty-one states today are taking Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta to court over strategies and algorithms they use to capture young people’s attention and keep them scrolling endlessly.

At the same time while pledging to make the platforms safe for minors and their mental health, Meta has essentially disregarded any significant guardrails such as “alternative feasible age verification,” as the suit notes,  that could help with such protections. “Research has shown that young people’s use of Meta’s Social Media Platforms is associated with depression, anxiety, insomnia, interference with education and daily life, and many other negative outcomes,” asserts the biting joint complaint filed in federal court Tuesday by 33-states, including California and New York. “Nonetheless, Meta has continued to deny and downplay these harmful effects to the public and to promote its Platforms as safe for young users,” it adds (read the lawsuit over social media platform addiction here).

While the District of Columbia and eight other state Attorney General’s offices are pursuing their own actions in various jurisdictions, the multi-state suit lays out the overall case – – and, you do not want to scroll past, because it is pretty damning.