Facebook, Instagram parent company Meta has been sued by 40 US states in a federal court in California. The lawsuit states that Meta repeatedly misled the public about significant risks on its social media platforms in order to maximize its financial profits. In a statement announcing the lawsuit, New York Attorney General Letitia James said social media companies like Meta are responsible for a large percentage of children and teenagers suffering from mental illness.
Meta has been accused of sidelining the youth by creating business models to maximize time spent on their social media platforms. Due to this, children and youths become addicted to them and suffer from high levels of mental health problems, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit alleges that Meta misled the public about the safety of its platforms, including its Horizon World virtual reality offering, part of the tech titan’s vision for Meta Technology chief.
There are also complaints against the addictive properties of meta platforms that push children and youth towards consuming them, using algorithms designed for toxic content. The states also claimed in the lawsuit that Meta used powerful and unprecedented technology to get youth to spend more time on their platforms.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement : The Kids and teenagers are suffering from record levels of poor mental health and the social media companies like Meta are to blame.