Senate Republicans Appear to Have the Votes to Push Through Trump's Budget Reconciliation...
Pentagon Watchdog Launches 'Signalgate' Investigation Into Pete Hegseth
United Kingdom Weighs Striking Back Against US Tariffs, and It's Asking Businesses for...
A Quick History of American Tariffs: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
An Ivy League Professor Flees to Canada and You Will Be Made to...
'Designed for Battle' Isn't a Valid Argument for Gun Control
Did '60 Minutes' Put Out Their Worst Segment With Lesley Stahl Providing Cover...
Kamala Harris Did More Than Just Endorse New WI Supreme Court Justice
Trump Weighs In on Proxy Voting Proposal, and It Looks Like There May...
Bernie Sanders Once More Tries, Fails Miserably to Get His Anti-Israel Resolutions Passed
Is AOC Really the Democratic Party's Leader? Here's What These Polls Say.
Senate Votes on Confirming Dr. Oz for Role in Trump Administration
We Will Hold Rogue Judges Accountable, Rep. Gill Says
Will the Liberal Media Cover This Horrific Crime Story?
Surprise: The 'Pro-Palestinian' Mob Has Nothing to Say About Hamas Murdering Palestinians
Tipsheet

Over 30 States Sue Meta for ‘Addictive’ Features Harming Children

AP Photo/Nick Wass

A bipartisan group of 33 attorneys general are suing Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, over “addictive” features aimed at children, according to a complaint filed Tuesday in federal court. 

Advertisement

In the lawsuit, the states claim that Meta allegedly violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and state consumer protection laws by making its platforms “addictive” and then lying about the repercussions of them on childrens’ mental health.

“While Meta consistently reassures parents, lawmakers, and users that its Social Media Platforms are suitable for young users and designed to promote their well-being, it continues to develop and implement features that it knows induce young users’ extended, addictive, and compulsive social media use,” the lawsuit read. The features it included in the lawsuit are the algorithms, the public display of likes, infinite scroll formats, among many others. 

“We share the attorneys general’s commitment to providing teens with safe, positive experiences online, and have already introduced over 30 tools to support teens and their families,” a Meta spokesperson told NBC in a statement. “We’re disappointed that instead of working productively with companies across the industry to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps teens use, the attorneys general have chosen this path.”

On X, formerly known as Twitter, Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said that Meta’s features “lure in and addict kids.” 

“This lawsuit seeks to end Meta’s exploitation of young people and remedy the damage it's done to an entire generation,” he added.

Advertisement

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said that Meta “knowingly designed and deployed harmful features” on its platforms. 

In 2021, former Facebook employee Frances Haugen leaked internal documents from Meta. The Wall Street Journal then reported that some of the documents showed that “thirty-two percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse.”

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Recommended

Trending on Townhall Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement