California Attorney General Rob Bonta recently announced the success of a bipartisan coalition of 33 attorneys general in thwarting Meta’s attempts to dismiss the coalition’s lawsuit. This lawsuit accuses the tech giant of harming children’s mental health and violating federal laws by allowing young children to access its platforms.
In October 2023, Bonta co-led this coalition in filing a federal lawsuit against Meta in the Northern District of California. The suit claims that Meta intentionally designed and implemented harmful features on Instagram and Facebook that promote addiction among children and teenagers, ultimately jeopardizing their physical and mental well-being while misleading the public about the safety of these features.
According to the federal complaint, some of Meta’s alleged misconduct includes establishing a business model that prioritizes maximizing young users’ time on its platforms, employing manipulative and psychologically harmful platform features, and disseminating misleading reports that downplay the rate of user harm. Despite ample evidence linking its platform to user injuries among young people, Meta has reportedly failed to address these issues while continuing to obscure and minimize the negative impacts of its services.
Bonta stated that Meta must take responsibility for the tangible harm it has caused to children in California and across the nation. In addition to pursuing legislative reforms aimed at transforming the market, this lawsuit seeks to clarify how to hold social media companies accountable and how these companies should treat children in the coming decades. “I am hopeful for the future. As the birthplace of great innovators and a thriving tech hub, California has a unique opportunity and responsibility to be a catalyst for change. Meta can and must do better. Our children deserve to have their childhoods.”
As of this reporting, no response has been received from Meta.
