Numerous U.S. states, including California and New York, have initiated lawsuits against Meta Platforms Inc., accusing the company of deliberately designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms and harm young people, thus contributing to the youth mental health crisis.
A lawsuit filed by 33 states in federal court in California claims that Meta consistently gathers data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent, which is in violation of federal law. Furthermore, nine attorneys general are filing lawsuits in their respective states, bringing the total number of states taking action to 41, along with Washington, D.C.
The complaint alleges, “Meta has harnessed powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens. Its motive is profit, and in seeking to maximize its financial gains, Meta has repeatedly misled the public about the substantial dangers of its social media platforms. It has concealed the ways in which these platforms exploit and manipulate its most vulnerable consumers: teenagers and children.”
These legal actions seek financial damages, restitution, and an end to Meta’s practices that violate the law.
New York Attorney General Letitia James stated, “Kids and teenagers are suffering from record levels of poor mental health, and social media companies like Meta are to blame. 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.”
In response, Meta issued a statement expressing its commitment to providing teens with safe, positive online experiences and mentioned introducing over 30 tools to support teens and their families. The company also expressed disappointment that the attorneys general had chosen this legal path instead of collaborating with the industry to establish clear, age-appropriate standards for teen-oriented apps.
This comprehensive federal lawsuit results from an investigation led by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from several states. It follows reports by The Wall Street Journal in 2021, based on Meta’s internal research, which revealed the harm Instagram could cause to teenagers, particularly teen girls, in terms of mental health and body image issues.
The use of social media among teenagers is nearly universal in the U.S. and other parts of the world, with almost all teens using social media platforms, and many using them frequently, according to the Pew Research Center.
To comply with federal regulations, social media companies prohibit children under 13 from signing up on their platforms. However, children have been found to easily bypass these bans, with or without their parents’ consent. The states’ complaint alleges that Meta knowingly violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting data on children without informing or obtaining permission from their parents.
Other measures taken by social platforms to address concerns about children’s mental health are also easily circumvented. For example, TikTok introduced a default 60-minute time limit for users under 18, but minors can simply enter a passcode to continue using the platform once the limit is reached. TikTok, Snapchat, and other social platforms that have also been implicated in the youth mental health crisis are not included in this lawsuit.
Washington D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb did not comment on whether they are examining TikTok or Snapchat, as their focus is currently on Facebook and Instagram. He stated, “They’re the worst of the worst when it comes to using technology to addict teenagers to social media, all in the furtherance of putting profits over people.”
In May, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy called on tech companies, parents, and caregivers to take immediate action to protect children from the harms of social media.
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