A bipartisan group of attorneys general from 41 states and the District of Columbia are suing Instagram and Facebook, charging that the social networks are deliberately addictive — and knowingly harming children’s mental health.
In the lawsuit, the AGs charge the sites are deliberately designed to keep young people engaged — and coming back for more through features like infinite scroll and notifications.
They also allege the parent company Meta’s “motive is profit.” They are seeking civil penalties, among other consequences.
This past May, United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a landmark advisory regarding the impact of social media, saying that it can “have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.”
The advisory adds, “In early adolescence, when identities and sense of self-worth are forming, brain development is especially susceptible to social pressures, peer opinions and peer comparison. Our children have become unknowing participants in a decades-long experiment.”
The lawsuit also alleges that Meta collected personal data from children under 13 without parental consent, which violates the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.