Meta settles US states’ lawsuits over social media harm to children
Meta Platforms has reached a settlement in a case involving lawsuits by US states that accused the company of designing Instagram and Facebook to be addictive for children, as well as misleading users about the platforms’ safety and improperly collecting minors’ personal data. This is stated in court documents, Channel NewsAsia reports, citing Reuters.
The agreement was reached during proceedings in a California federal court concerning claims by 29 states. It made it possible to avoid one of the most prominent trials over the alleged harm of social platforms to young users. Shortly before jury selection was set to begin on August 12, a federal appeals court declined to halt the proceedings.
States’ claims
The lawsuits by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey concerned alleged violations of those states’ consumer protection laws. Twenty-nine states also said that Meta had violated the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
According to the states, the company collected personal data from users it knew were children without notifying parents or obtaining their consent. Meta was also accused of using this data to train machine-learning and generative artificial intelligence models.
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Meta’s position and other lawsuits
Meta denied the allegations, saying it had worked to protect children on its platforms. The company also argued that it could not have misled consumers about addiction to its services because “social media addiction” is not a recognized psychiatric condition.
Before the trial began, Meta said the four states were seeking up to $1.4 trillion in penalties. Representatives of the states said at a hearing that the amount would be closer to $200 billion. They also demanded damages, substantial changes to how the platforms operate, and a ban on children creating accounts.
Meta, Snap, Alphabet and ByteDance continue to face thousands of lawsuits in federal and state courts. Plaintiffs allege that the companies knowingly designed platform features capable of causing addiction among children and teenagers and worsening the youth mental health crisis.
