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Florida sues Facebook and Instagram
Craig Patrick reports
TAMPA, Fla. - The state of Florida is suing Facebook and Instagram, accusing the sites of misleading us about their safety features and addicting our kids. Courts have merged that suit with a flood of other complaints across the nation.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody sued Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, on the claim the platforms use "manipulative" features that hook kids on scrolling, violate the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, and violate the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
"It’s no surprise to parents that children cannot stay off their phones," said Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody. "This has been shown to be very addictive to children across the United States. It’s caused mental health problems and sleep problems."
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And, Florida’s case will soon play out in the Northern District of California, because California and other states have filed similar lawsuits, and they’ve been combined into one case in which dozens of state attorneys’ general will work together.
"We know META [Facebook’s parent company] has internal documents that include studies and reports discussing the harmful effects of META's products," said California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
This partially relates to revelations from former Facebook manager Frances Haugen. She shared internal company documents, which appear to show the company knew its algorithms pushed content that cause body image and mental health issues.
RELATED: Court document alleges Meta willingly designed its platforms to hook kids: report
The state attorneys general have the testimony of minors who said they got hooked. They also claim Facebook and Instagram are further exploiting kids with tools and techniques to knowingly addict them and harm their mental health.
"Features like infinite scroll and near-constant alerts were created with the express goal of hooking young users, continually luring them back online and causing long-term psychological harm," said Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown.
Meta denies this and said it uses features to protect children who use their sites.