2023-10-24 18:24:39
The lawsuit alleges features on Instagram and Facebook were designed harmful features to addict children and teens to the apps.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced Tuesday that Oregon is joining 34 other states in a federal lawsuit against Meta, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company.
The coalition alleges in the the 233-page federal complaint that Meta violated state consumer protection laws and the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by “knowingly” designing and deploying “harmful features” on its social media platforms to purposefully addict children and teens while “falsely” assuring the public that the features are safe and suitable for its users.
“These practices have harmed and continue to harm the physical and mental health of children and teens, fueling what the U.S. Surgeon General — America’s top doctor — has deemed a ‘youth mental health crisis’ that has ended lives, devastated families, and damaged the potential of a generation of young people,” said a release from Rosenblum.
The complaint refers to Meta’s business practices as a “scheme to exploit young users for profit.”
It outlines alleged noncompliance with COPPA including collecting children’s personal information on Instagram and failure to obtain verifiable parental consent before doing so.
Not all evidence is public, said Rosenblum in a prepared statement, but the complaint relies on public sources including information released by former Meta employees, including Aza Raskin, the original developer of the infinite scroll concept.
“These platforms are not safe for our young Americans, and Meta knew that! Yet, instead of taking steps to mitigate these harms, Meta misled the public and hid the extent of the harms to mental health suffered by young users addicted to the use of its platforms,” Rosenblum said.
The other states who joined in the complaint are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Colorado and Tennessee are the lead states in the federal case. The District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Vermont are filing their own suits in state court. Florida is filing its own federal lawsuit according to the release.
The coalition is seeking to stop the practices they say violate COPPA, enforce compliance with COPPA, and obtain damages, restitution and other compensation.
Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @DianneLugo.
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