A bipartisan coalition of 42 U.S. attorneys general is suing Facebook and Instagram parent Meta (META) -), alleging that the company has engaged in a "scheme" to exploit and manipulate young users by knowingly pushing addictive, psychologically damaging features across its social media services.
The core of the suit comes down to the allegation that, in order to maximize profit, Meta engaged in manipulative efforts to increase user engagement on its platforms. This fiscal incentive, according to the lawsuit, has resulted in detrimental impacts on young users' "mental and physical health."
The suit, which has been filed across several districts and states, seeks to "stop Meta from continuing to deploy these harmful tactics." The coalition is also seeking penalties, which could range from $1,000 to $50,000 per violation, depending on the various states' laws at hand.
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"Meta has profited from children’s pain by intentionally designing its platforms with manipulative features that make children addicted to their platforms while lowering their self-esteem," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. "Social media companies, including Meta, have contributed to a national youth mental health crisis and they must be held accountable."
The coalition highlighted a short list of features Meta has employed which they allege the company has used to exploit "young users for profit."
Among these are algorithms designed to keep users on the platform while encouraging "compulsive use"; notifications that continue drawing users back to the platform; image filters that "promote body dysmorphia"; social comparison features and the "infinite scroll" that keeps people on for longer.
The lawsuit additionally accuses Meta of breaching the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, in its collection of personal data of users under age 13.
“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,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said 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.”
Despite publicly downplaying these negative impacts, James said in a statement, the company's own internal documents prove that "Meta has known for years about these serious harms associated with young users’ time spent on its platforms."
"Meta designed features on its platforms that it knew would harp on young users’ vulnerabilities."
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The 'Facebook whistleblower' reacts
The internal documents that James references were leaked in 2021 by Frances Haugen, a data scientist-turned-whistleblower. Haugen, speaking to CNBC about the lawsuit, said that such a large bipartisan turn-out doesn't happen very often.
"Today is a historic day," she said. "It's a symbol of the fact that enough is enough. People aren't willing to wait anymore and endanger children or their futures."
The reason Haugen chose to blow the whistle on Facebook — and the crux of the attorney's general argument — is that Facebook is prioritizing profits over safety, specifically when it comes to kids and teens.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in 2021 that this idea is "just not true."
But with issues of mental health in kids on the rise, Haugen wishes she had asked even more questions before leaving the company and leaking the documents.
"The public deserves to know what's happening with our children," she said.
Instagram, she said, didn't ask users for their age, a bare minimum in safety, until 2019. The safety features that Meta touts today were largely launched around the same time that the U.K. passed its age-appropriate design code.
"Facebook has acted in bad faith over and over again and basically done the bare minimum," Haugen said.
But the issue, both for the attorneys general and Haugen, goes far beyond Facebook and Instagram. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said that the Meta lawsuit is just one part of "an industry-wide investigation."
TikTok, Haugen said, could push tools to help ease addiction in the U.S., especially at night.
"But they don't," she said. "So we're seeing the same patterns over and over again across these companies."
Meta, whose stock fell nearly 2% Wednesday, will report earnings after the bell Oct. 25.
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