Meta, the parent company of social media giants Instagram and Facebook, is being sued by 33 states in the US for damaging children’s mental health causing depression, anxiety and insomnia. The lawsuit accuses Meta of exploiting young users for profit.

This allegation is rooted in the belief that social media platforms design their systems to keep users — including children and teenagers — engaged for as long as possible to maximise advertising revenue. The more time users spend on these platforms, the more data they generate, which can be used for targeted advertising.

“Meta has harnessed powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens. Its motive is profit, and in seeking to maximise its financial gains, Meta has repeatedly misled the public about the substantial dangers of its social media platforms,” the complaint says. “It has concealed the ways in which these platforms exploit and manipulate its most vulnerable consumers: teenagers and children.”

Another accusation is that Meta, like other social media platforms, exposes young users to harmful content. This content can include cyberbullying, hate speech amongst others. Exposure to such content can have negative psychological effects on young users, contributing to issues like depression and anxiety, experts say.

Much of the focus on Meta has increased after an internal study by Instagram which first came to light in 2021. Internal research showed that teen users' mental health was negatively impacted by using the company's photo- and video-sharing app, Instagram. As per the study 32% of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse.

“Kids and teenagers are suffering from record levels of poor mental health and social media companies like Meta are to blame,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James in a statement. “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.”

In a statement, Meta said it shares “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.”

“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,” the company added.

The use of social media among teens is nearly universal in the US and many other parts of the world. Almost all teens ages 13 to 17 in the US report using a social media platform, with about a third saying they use social media “almost constantly,” according to the Pew Research Center.

It's important to note that Meta is not the only tech company facing such lawsuits. Competitors like Snapchat, TikTok, and Google have also been subject to legal action on accusations that these platforms contribute to issues like anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and sleep disturbances among young users.

TikTok recently introduced a default 60-minute time limit for users under 18. But once the limit is reached, minors can simply enter a passcode to keep watching.

In May, US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy called on tech companies, parents and caregivers to take “immediate action to protect kids now” from the harms of social media.

(With inputs from AP)

(Edited by : Pihu Yadav)

First Published:Oct 25, 2023 7:54 AM IST