Meta, the parent company of social media giants Facebook and Instagram, is being sued by over 33 states including the state of Idaho.
The lawsuit alleges that Meta employs highly addictive tactics to hook younger users as well as collect their data without permission.
Meta faced multiple lawsuits in the past ranging from class action lawsuits, multiple brushes with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and a tax evasion lawsuit from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The State of Idaho is no stranger to taking action on social media. In 2022, Gov. Brad Little signed an executive order banning the popular social media app TikTok from state-issued devices. This was also in response to alleged data collection, albeit from a foreign government.
The most recent lawsuit against Meta has a focus primarily on addictive tactics geared towards younger users and the information they gather from those users.
“COPPA (The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) prohibits social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram from enrolling users who are under age 13,” said Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador in a press statement emailed to The Arbiter.
COPPA is a rule that went into effect on July 1, 2013. Under COPPA, new requirements and protections are imposed on the internet that are directed towards individuals under the age of 13 years old.
“Today’s lawsuit alleges that Meta knew children used its platforms and the company knowingly collected data from them without parental consent,” said Labrador.
Attorney General Labrador’s office declined to comment further when The Arbiter reached out.
The almost 230-page lawsuit against Meta raises four key concerns: the business model of Meta platforms focus on maximizing young users’ time, that Meta deploys “harmful” and “manipulative” product features to entice extended use, the refusal to abandon these harmful tactics and filing misleading reports on user harms.
“Meta has harnessed powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens,” as stated in the lawsuit.
With social media as prevalent as it is, adults who use the platforms generally know what they are getting into, but younger individuals have less of an understanding of this.
“We know that our data is being mined. We know that they are using the information to make a profit and sell ads to us. We know that when things pop up that we are interested in. The same thing is happening to our kids,” said Boise State University Lecturer Christine Moore. “They need us on that platform so they can sell more data and make more money.”
According to a recent Gallup poll conducted in October 2023, 51% of those between the ages of 13-19 years old spend 4.8 hours per day on average scrolling social media with Instagram being in the top three apps used.
“Meta has Instagram and Facebook and their market share is number one in the world which means their social impact is larger than other social media platforms,” said Dr. Jinho Joo, an assistant professor at Boise State University.
Dr. Joo brought up what he sees as potential issues that arise with the current tactics social media companies use.
“Those kinds of things could cause negative mental health issues like depression or anxiety. Another problem is they are more likely to be exposed to fake news and fake information,” Joo said.
Joo shared that a possible way for these companies to avoid this is to make the algorithm “filter” that kind of content so it isn’t coming across younger users’ profiles as much.
This case is still in its early stages and it is still unclear as to when this might see an actual trial or what the possible outcomes might be.
