The social media giant is accused by 40 American states of endangering the “mental and physical health of young people” with its Facebook and Instagram applications.
A complaint of great magnitude. Already in the crosshairs of justice, Meta, the social media giant, is targeted this Tuesday by lawsuits from 40 American states which accuse its Facebook and Instagram applications of harming the “mental and physical health of young people”.
“Meta exploited powerful and unprecedented technologies to attract (…) and ultimately trap young people and adolescents in order to make profits,” assert the attorneys general in the introduction of the complaint, filed with a court Californian.
These 40 states, Democrats and Republicans, affirmed in their complaint that Mark Zuckerberg’s group “concealed the way in which these platforms (Facebook and Instagram, editor’s note) exploit and manipulate its most vulnerable consumers”, and “neglected the damages considerable” caused to the “mental and physical health of the young people of our country”.
An investigation underway for two years
This legal action represents the culmination of investigations carried out over two years into the methods of the two platforms, considered “addictive” by the authorities.
The Meta Group said it was “disappointed that the attorneys general have chosen this path instead of working productively with industry companies to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps used by teens.”
The group’s spokesperson explained: “We share the attorneys general’s commitment to providing teens with safe and positive online experiences, and we have already introduced more than 30 tools to support teens and their families
The 40 plaintiff states mobilized in the fall of 2021 after a former Facebook employee raised the alarm about the practices of her former company. Engineer Frances Haugen leaked more than 20,000 pages of internal documents, insisting in front of various parliaments that the social media giant was putting profits before the safety of its users.
Designed to “manipulate young users”
According to this Tuesday’s complaint, the features of Facebook and Instagram were designed to “manipulate young users, in order to encourage them to use the platforms in a compulsive and prolonged manner.” Prosecutors further accuse Meta of lying to the public (by assuring that its products were safe and suitable for adolescents) and “publishing misleading reports.”
While Congress has been unable for years to agree on laws to better regulate information technology giants, both on questions of abuse of dominant position and consumer protection, the subject of children tends to unite the elected representatives of the two major political parties.
“With today’s legal action, we mark the line that must not be crossed,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “We must protect our children and we will not back down in this fight.”
The complaint, filed on Tuesday, also accuses Meta of violating the law on the confidentiality of personal data of children. The States are asking the courts to force the social media giant to put an end to its practices and are demanding the payment of fines.
Other cases brought jointly by several states are underway against large technology companies, particularly on questions of monopoly.