This past Tuesday, Colorado co-led a multi-state lawsuit against Meta (formerly Facebook) for that company’s irresponsible management of its platforms (notably, Instagram) in ways that harmed our nation’s youth. Together, 42 states sued Meta in a coordinated set of state and federal lawsuits that seek to protect our kids in the face of a youth mental health crisis like we have never seen.
Colorado led the federal lawsuit joined by 32 other states. Our lawsuit takes aim at Meta’s deceptive and irresponsible management of its platforms, as I explained when I discussed this action on PBS. Meta repeatedly told the public that its platforms (Instagram and Facebook) were safe. That’s not true. It’s critical that we take action to protect young people in the face of shameful efforts to keep them addicted to these platforms. Meta designed features like infinite scroll and near-constant alerts with the express goal of hooking and addicting young users, continually luring them back onto the platform.
The evidence we presented details how Meta falsely assured the public that these features are safe and suitable for young user. As such, its actions violate Colorado’s consumer protection law. The complaint explains, moreover, that Meta knew that young users, including those under 13, actively used the platforms in clear violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Notably, Meta knowingly collected data from these users without parental consent, viewing this user base as “valuable, but untapped” and putting profit over kids’ mental health.
The harms to young people on account of addictive features in social media platforms include increased levels of depression, encouragement of dangerous behaviors, and reduced sleep. Meta knew about these harms and, nonetheless, it continued to reassure the public that its platforms were safe.
