42 U.S. States are Suing Meta
Just recently, there was a coalition that was formed by 42 attorneys, with each representing their state. And they all filed a lawsuit against Meta Inc, which has the ownership of major apps like Facebook, Threads, WhatsApp, and even Instagram.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said, on October 24, that his office will be suing Meta because their social media apps conducted some harmful techniques that are targeting children. Additionally, this specific lawsuit is backed up by 33 different states. There are nine other lawsuits that are being filed by other attorneys inside their own states. However, the lawsuit that was filed by the coalition was done in the federal district court in northern California.
Some of the states that are a part of the lawsuit are Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New York, Utah, Mississippi, Indiana, and Illinois. The reason for this lawsuit is that the platforms that Meta owns are affecting the youth’s mental health. Furthermore, the main evidence is the business models for the apps are to grab the most of the user’s time, in order to sell their advertisements. The prominent group that has the most free time is the youth. This is why these apps are believed to be targeting teens or younger kids.
The youth are being taken advantage of and at least 42 states won’t take this lightly. So they won’t stop till there is a middle ground that is set.
The effects of the control on children
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul had a very clear and strong standpoint on this matter. “There is a crisis that has been going on and no one has done anything about it but now it is time to act upon this problem,” he also said. “Meta is allowing and causing some of the major problems we are seeing in teens today. More specifically, the apps are inducing overall less sleep and education. Meta platforms have also become a hub for cyberbullying, pushing children into depression, body dysmorphia, inflicting self-harm, and anxiety.”
The coalitions and Meta’s claims
As the coalition of attorneys claimed the way Meta designed these large apps, would take advantage of the psychological weaknesses the youth might have to make them stay on the platform for a longer time period. Which in turn, ends up damaging the child. This matters because this means Meta has violated COPPA, which is the federal Children Online Privacy Protection Act. The way they violated this act is because they collected very personal information about the youth who are under 13. Furthermore, the collection of data would be without parents’ or guardians’ permission. Which is required by statute of the act.
Meta has gone out and said they have the same desire as the 42 states. Which is to make and provide a safe and positive space for teens and all ages online. Additionally, they stated that they have implemented 30-plus tools to help teens and families and are just disappointed that the coalition decided to file a lawsuit instead of trying to collaborate with the company and make precise age-fit standards for their apps as there are many teens using them.
By Samuel Cruz
Sources:
Patch: Illinois, 41 States Sue Meta Over ‘Addictive’ Features That Harm Kids
The Washington Post: 41 states sue Meta, claiming Instagram, Facebook are addictive, harm kids
PBS: More than 40 states sue Meta claiming its social platforms are addictive and harm children’s mental health
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Inset Image Courtesy of Janne Räkköläinen Flickr Page–Creative Commons License
