The company that owns Facebook and Instagram has tailored both social media platforms to keep children and teenagers engaged on their platforms for as long as possible in order to gather personal data and sell it to advertisers, a group of state prosecutors said Monday.
Attorneys general in 33 states filed a federal lawsuit against Meta in October, the details of which were not immediately released. States on Monday unveiled more specifics from the previously redacted complaint. The states accuse Meta of harming young users on Facebook and Instagram through the use of highly manipulative algorithms and technological tools deliberately deployed by Meta to attract and sustain engagement, as it collected personal information for advertisers, including from children without parental consent — which is required by law.
Compulsive use of Facebook or IG by teens and children can cause physical and mental harm, according to the 233-page complaint.
State prosecutors built their case, in part, using snippets of emails, earnings call transcripts and other internal communications — all of which suggest the extreme value of young users’ personal information and time to company profits.
In an emailed statement from October when the joint suit was filed, Meta said it was disappointed by the route taken by the attorneys general.
Meta is determined to provide teens with “safe, positive experiences online, and have already introduced over 30 tools to support teens and their families,” the company said at the time.
“The complaint mischaracterizes our work using selective quotes and cherry-picked documents,” a Meta spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch in a statement Monday.
Attorneys general from states ranging from California to Wisconsin are part of the lawsuit.
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