Facebook, Instagram Addiction Lawsuit: Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Faces Legal Action from 42 Attorneys General

A bipartisan group of 42 state attorneys general filed lawsuits against Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, alleging that key features on the Meta platforms are intentionally designed to be addictive and harmful to kids and teens.

The coalition of state prosecutors spanned both Republican and Democratic-led states. The legal action demonstrates the priority both conservatives and liberals have placed on protecting young internet users from online harm.

33 states filed a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court in the Northern District of California. Meanwhile, attorneys general from nine additional states including New York and Tennessee filed suits in their own state courts.

The lawsuits accuse Meta of deploying algorithms, infinite scrolling, notifications, and alerts that encourage longer, repeated use of Facebook and Instagram. This system allegedly contributes to mental health harms for young users, such as depression, eating disorders, and self-harm stemming from Meta-exacerbated body-image issues.

Lawsuits Seek Penalties, Reform of Meta's Practices

Meta allegedly violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by gathering data on users under the age of 13 without parental consent.

The states aim through the lawsuits to compel Meta to end these alleged harms. They are seeking financial penalties and restitution from the social media titan.

In a statement, Meta said it shares the goal of providing safe online experiences for teens and has introduced more than 30 tools to aid parents and teenage users. A Meta spokesperson expressed disappointment that the attorneys general have not collaborated with social media companies on establishing age-appropriate standards across the industry.

Internal research documents leaked last year revealed that Meta was aware of many of these alleged harms tied to excessive social media use by young people, especially teenage girls. The company had not made these research findings public.

The current lawsuits could pave the way for industry-wide settlements that reform social media companies' practices to better protect minors. The state prosecutors indicated they may also file future litigation against other tech firms like TikTok over similar allegations related to youth safety.

The extensive bipartisan cooperation demonstrates the broad concern from the left and right over social media’s effects on mental health and online protections for minors.

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