NJ is taking on Meta for creating youth public health crisis.
TRENTON – New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin is among 41 state attorneys general to file a lawsuit against Meta for knowingly designing and employing harmful features on Facebook and Instagram to purposely addict children and teens, and then assuring the public that platforms are suitable for young users.
A total of 33 states filed a joint complaint in federal court asserting Meta’s business practices violate the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. In NJ, Meta violates the Consumer Fraud Act, Platkin said in a release. Eight other states filed similar lawsuits in their courts.
Platkin said Meta’s practices have created a “youth mental crisis,” that has resulted in deaths and devastated families.
“As New Jersey’s chief law enforcement officer and as a parent, I feel strongly that there is nothing more important than ensuring the well-being of our children. And we know that in the era of social media, their mental health has never been more at risk,” Platkin said.
The lawsuit aims to hold Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg “accountable for deceptive, manipulative practices” they knew were harmful.
“Profits – not people, not its most vulnerable users, children and teens – drive the decision making at Meta. That stops today,” he said in a statement.
New Jersey began investigating Meta in 2020 and led other states in the investigation.
The federal complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that Meta knew that its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, were harming young people. Instead of taking steps to mitigate the psychological and health harms associated with use of its platforms, Meta not only concealed these harms but also amplified them by employing features that fueled young users’ addiction to its platforms.
The complaint further alleges that Meta knew that young users, including those under 13, were active on the platforms, and knowingly collected data from these users without the parental consent that is required by federal law. It targeted these young users because, as reported in a 2021 Wall Street Journal article, this user base was “valuable, but untapped.” At the same time, however, the company disavowed interest in this demographic, publicly stating that it did not allow kids under 13 on its platforms.
