'Serious harms': 42 state AGs sue Meta for intentionally trying to get young users addicted

A bipartisan group of 42 state attorneys general is suing Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — for allegedly developing their products with the intent to keep young users addicted.

According to CNBC, the lawsuit accuses Meta of designing algorithms and features for both of their main social media platforms meant to push young users into constantly staying on the apps. These features include excessive notifications showing users new likes and the infinite scrolling feature that motivates a user to consistently view new content for hours at a time. The AGs also say the company violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act by gathering data on users under 13 without parental consent.

"While Meta has publicly denied and downplayed these harmful effects, it cannot credibly plead ignorance,” the Office of New York Attorney General Letitia James stated. “Meta’s own internal research documents show its awareness that its products harm young users. Indeed, internal studies that Meta commissioned – and kept private until they were leaked by a whistleblower and publicly reported – reveal that Meta has known for years about these serious harms associated with young users’ time spent on its platforms."

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The whistleblower James referred to is former Meta employee Frances Haugen, who leaked tens of thousands of pages of internal documents in 2021 to both Congress and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The leaked documents showed how the company knew its products contributed to the psychological harm of teen users, as well as the company's awareness of how human traffickers used Meta apps to conduct their illicit business, and how purveyors of misinformation manipulated algorithms.

Instagram, in particular, was singled out for its unique harm on teenage users. According to the documents, Meta's internal researchers found that 13% of girls in the UK and 6% of girls in the US attributed suicidal thoughts to Instagram content. 32% of girls reported that Instagram made them feel bad about themselves. Additionally, 14% of boys reportedly also said Instagram was detrimental to their self-esteem.

Washington, DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb told CNBC that while everyone experiences "FOMO" (fear of missing out) in regard to social media notifications, tween, pre-teen and teen social media users can experience it much more than others.

"All of that is part of the built-in DNA that Meta uses to keep people hooked," he said.

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