INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and 41 other attorneys general sued Meta in federal and state courts Tuesday alleging the company knowingly designed and deployed harmful features on its social media platforms that purposefully addict children and teens. Meta owns and operates a number of social media sites, including Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
“This is just the next step in our endless fight to protect our youth from harmful, toxic platforms,” said Rokita.
The attorneys general assert that Meta’s business practices violate state consumer protection laws and the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
The federal complaint alleges that Meta knew of the harmful impact of its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, on young people. Instead of taking steps to mitigate these harms, it misled the public about the harms associated with the use of its platform, concealing the extent of the psychological and health harms suffered by young users addicted to the use of its platforms.
The complaint further asserts that Meta knew that young users, including those under 13, were active on the platforms, and knowingly collected data from these users without parental consent. It targeted these young users noting, as reported in a 2021 Wall Street Journal article, that such a user base was “valuable, but untapped.”
A news release said while much of the complaint relies on confidential material not yet available to the public, sources already in circulation including those previously released by former Meta employees detail that Meta profited by purposely making its platforms addictive to kids and teens. Its algorithms push users into descending “rabbit holes” in an effort to maximize engagement.
The complaint alleges Meta knew these addictive features harmed young people’s physical/mental health, including undermining their ability to get adequate sleep, but did not disclose the harm nor make meaningful changes to minimize it. Instead, they claimed the platforms were safe for young users.
Multiple states also sued TikTok for similar conduct, following Indiana’s lead. A hearing to dismiss Rokita’s TikTok suit is scheduled for this week in Allen County.
