More than 40 American states have filed a lawsuit against the technology giant Meta, in which they accuse its social networks, Facebook and Instagram, of harming “the physical and mental health of young people”, according to the document presented to a California court this Tuesday Monday (24).
“Meta exploited powerful and unprecedented technologies to attract (…) and, ultimately, arrest young people and teenagers with the aim of obtaining profits”, say the attorneys general of the states in which the complaint, to which AFP had access , was introduced.
The states, governed by both Democrats and Republicans, add that the Californian group “concealed the way these platforms exploit and manipulate their most vulnerable consumers” and “overlooked the considerable harm these platforms have caused to the mental health and physical health of young people of our country.”
Contacted by AFP, Meta declared itself “disappointed that attorneys general have chosen this path, instead of working productively with companies in the sector to create clear, age-adapted standards for the numerous applications used by teenagers”.
“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,” highlighted a spokesperson for the group.
The legal action is the culmination of investigations started in 2021 into the methods of the two platforms, considered “addictive” by authorities.
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Attorneys general decided to take matters into their own hands this year after a former Facebook employee raised the alarm about her former company’s practices.
Computer engineer Frances Haugen leaked more than 20,000 pages of internal documents and denounced before parliaments in several countries that the social network put its profits ahead of user safety.
According to the complaint filed this Tuesday, the functions of Facebook and Instagram were designed to “manipulate young users into compulsive and prolonged use of the platforms”.
Prosecutors accuse Meta of lying to the public by ensuring that its products were safe and suitable for teenagers, and of “publishing misleading advertisements” about it.
The lawsuit also accuses Meta of violating the Children’s Privacy Act.
States ask courts to force Meta to cease its practices and demand payment of fines.
“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 from this fight”, he said.