More than two dozen state attorneys general are suing Meta, alleging the tech giant designed its apps to be addictive to young users.
Thirty-three states filed a lawsuit against Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, in the U.S. District Court in the North District of California Oct. 24. They join seven other states and the District of Columbia that have filed similar challenges in state courts.
The lawsuit is the result of an investigation launched in the wake of internal Meta documents released by a whistleblower, which showed the company knew its platforms, particularly Instagram, were worsening teens' body image and mental health.
"Our bipartisan investigation has arrived at a solemn conclusion: Meta has been harming our children and teens, cultivating addiction to boost corporate profits," California Attorney General Rob Bonta, one of the leaders of the effort, said in a news release.
The lawsuit is the largest state legal challenge to a social media company over children's mental health, The Washington Post reported Oct. 24.
The attorneys general allege Meta created a business model around maximizing the time young users spend on its platform and employed psychologically manipulative tactics on its platform while misleading the public about the safety of these features.
“With today's lawsuit, we are drawing the line. We must protect our children and we will not back down from this fight. I am grateful for the collaboration of my fellow state attorneys general in standing up for our children and holding Meta accountable," Mr. Bonta said.
A Meta spokesperson told The Washington Post the company is "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."