Dozens of U.S. states are suing Meta for allegedly contributing to the youth mental health crisis through the deliberate design of certain features on its platforms, alleging Instagram and Facebook enable addictive behavior in children.
A coalition of 41 states and the District of Columbia are filing lawsuits alleging that Meta Platforms has intentionally built its products with addictive features that harm young users of Facebook and Instagram https://t.co/5m56ihi6TShttps://t.co/5m56ihi6TS
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) October 24, 2023
The lawsuit claims that Facebook and Instagram have profoundly altered the “psychological and social realities of a generation of young Americans.”
“Meta’s business model is based on maximizing the time that young users spend on its social media platforms,” the lawsuit explains. It continues, “Meta was aware that young users’ developing brains are particularly vulnerable to certain forms of manipulation, and it chose to exploit those vulnerabilities through targeted features such as:
- Dopamine-manipulating recommendation algorithms
- “Likes” and social comparison features known by Meta to harm young users
- Audiovisual and haptic alerts that incessantly recall young users to Meta’s social media platforms
- Visual filter features known to promote young users’ body dysmorphia
- Content-presentation formats – infinite scroll”
“The deceptive and unfair practices used by Meta have deeply harmed our youth,” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who led the federal lawsuit filed by the state AGs, said in a statement. “We must address the insidious impact the compulsive use of Meta’s platforms has had on our young generation. Just like Big Tobacco and vaping companies have done in years past, Meta chose to maximize its profits at the expense of public health, specifically harming the health of the youngest among us. We will work tirelessly to hold the company accountable for the harm it has and continues to inflict.”
Although much of the complaint relies on confidential material that is not yet available to the public, sources close to the matter detail that Meta profited from keeping children locked onto their screens and on the app. Using algorithms to guide kids down the “rabbit hole” maximized engagement.
The state AGs cited the comments of Aza Raskin, the original developer of the “infinite-scroll” concept who formerly worked at Mozilla, in a 2019 interview with the BBC about the feature’s addictive qualities: “If you don’t give your brain time to catch up with your impulses…you just keep scrolling.”
According to Politico, Meta has assured that more than than 30 design changes to improve children’s safety across its products.
“We’re disappointed that instead of working productively with companies across the industry to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps teens use, the attorneys general have chosen this path,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
The suit seeks financial damages and restitution and an end to Meta’s practices that are violation of the law.
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