Pennsylvania joins 32 other states in lawsuit against Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta
HARRISBURG (KDKA) - A bipartisan coalition of 33 state attorneys general, including Pennsylvania, have announced a federal lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
The suit alleges that the tech giant deliberately engineered its social media platforms to be addictive to both children and teenagers in an effort to boost its profits.
"The time has come for social media giants to stop trading in our children's mental health for big profits," Attorney General Henry said. "According to the lawsuit, Meta not only targets young minds with addictive, harmful, trap-door content, but it also lies to the public and parents about how their platforms are safe. Creators have built multi-billion dollar empires by promoting a click-bait culture that is psychologically hurting kids."
Pennsylvania, and 32 other states, have joined the lawsuit after the U.S. Surgeon General said in May that bad social media companies have contributed to what is described as a "youth mental health crisis."
Federal law prohibits children under the age of 13 from signing up for social media platforms, but the federal complaint alleges that Meta knew young users were active on the platform and collected data from them without parental consent.
"Meta has preyed on the vulnerability of young users seeking validation and approval from peers," Attorney General Henry added. "It has resulted in challenges with body image, self-worth, and a skewed sense of what is normal in the world offline."
Meta has said, in a statement, that they're disappointed by the route taken by these attorneys general and is determined to provide teenagers with "safe, positive experiences online."