In a significant legal move, 33 U.S. states, including California and Illinois, have filed a lawsuit against Meta Platforms and its Instagram unit, accusing them of contributing to a youth mental health crisis by fostering addiction through their social media platforms. The complaint, lodged in a federal court in Oakland, California, asserts that Meta, which also operates Facebook, has repeatedly misled the public about the substantial risks of its platforms and knowingly lured young children and teenagers into addictive and compulsive social media use.
The lawsuit, which targets various remedies, including significant civil penalties, marks the latest in a series of legal actions taken against social media companies concerning children and teenagers. ByteDance’s TikTok and Google’s YouTube have also faced hundreds of lawsuits related to the addictiveness of their platforms.
Meta responded to the lawsuit by expressing disappointment that the states’ attorneys general had chosen legal action rather than collaboration to establish clear, age-appropriate standards for teen app usage. The company stated its commitment to ensuring the online safety of young people.
The focus on Meta intensified after the release of documents in 2021 revealing that the company possessed data indicating that Instagram, initially a photo-sharing app, was addictive and exacerbated body image issues among some teenage girls.
The lawsuit alleges that Meta actively seeks to maximize young people’s social media engagement, despite being aware that teenage brains are susceptible to the quest for approval through “likes” from other users on their content. Moreover, the lawsuit asserts that Meta deceptively denied the harmful nature of its social media in public statements. It also accuses Meta of violating a law that prohibits the collection of data from children under the age of 13.
Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges that Meta is attempting to expand these practices into virtual reality, encompassing platforms such as Horizon Worlds, as well as communication apps like WhatsApp and Messenger.
Nine additional states are expected to file similar lawsuits, bringing the total number of suing states to 42.
The Menlo Park, California-based company, along with other social media firms, already faces a multitude of lawsuits brought on behalf of children and school districts that raise parallel claims regarding the impact of social media on youth mental health.
