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A total of 33 U.S. states have banded together to file a lawsuit against the gargantuan social media behemoth, Meta, leveling some rather serious allegations.
They contend that the platforms under Meta's purview are supposedly wreaking havoc on the delicate mental well-being of our nation's young ones. This lawsuit, in all its legal magnificence, asserts that the corporate titan Meta Platforms Inc. has been engaging in the somewhat questionable practice of gathering the personal data of kids below the ripe age of 13, all without the gracious nod of approval from their doting parents.
“Meta has harnessed powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens. Its motive is profit, and in seeking to maximize its financial gains, Meta has repeatedly misled the public about the substantial dangers of its social media platforms,” the suit says. “It has concealed the ways in which these platforms exploit and manipulate its most vulnerable consumers: teenagers and children.”
“Kids and teenagers are suffering from record levels of poor mental health and social media companies like Meta are to blame,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. “Meta has profited from children’s pain by intentionally designing its platforms with manipulative features that make children addicted to their platforms while lowering their self-esteem."