Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is facing a flurry of lawsuits saying that it hasn't done enough to protect its young users from psychological harm and is profiting from them.
The lawsuits claim that the popular websites are failing to protect underage users and that extended exposure to them is leading to real or attempted suicides, self-harm, eating disorders, severe anxiety and depression, and sleep problems, all in the service of increased profit margins.
"These applications could have been designed to minimize any potential harm, but instead, a decision was made to aggressively addict adolescents in the name of corporate profits," Andy Birchfield, an attorney with Beasley Allen Law, which filed the suits, said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The defendants knew that their products and related services were dangerous to young and impressionable children and teens, yet they completely disregarded their own information."
The claims filed this week claim that the social media platforms intentionally create and deploy addictive psychological strategies to entice young and vulnerable users, despite "extensive insider knowledge" that their products are causing serious harm to young people's mental health.
Each case, which was filed in Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas, is around 100 pages long. According to the claims, Meta neglected to warn adolescents and their parents about the dangers of social media use. Instead, consumers discovered these risks last year after Meta whistleblower Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager, disclosed confidential information.
Some of the internal research Haugen disclosed concerns the influence of Instagram on teenagers, which was covered in September by The Wall Street Journal. Facebook claimed that the publication misrepresented the study's findings.
The cases highlight how Meta creates goods that keep customers hooked on their site. According to the claims, kids experience exhilaration when they "like" a message, but when they stop using social media, they endure withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety and insomnia.
"Meta is further aware that, despite the platforms' adverse impact to teenage users' well-being, the absence of impulse control often renders teens powerless to oppose the platforms' allure," the lawsuits said.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri testified before Congress in December on the harm Instagram is doing to young people. Mosseri stated that the firm would "rethink what Instagram is." at the end of 2021. Instagram also implemented parental controls in March, but it is unclear how many parents use them.
