Florida joins lawsuit against Instagram, Facebook developer Meta over youth impacts
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. - Time can slip away fast when on social media, and there’s concern about how that impacts children who use those apps.
On Tuesday Hillsborough County Schools held a student online safety program to share tips for parents and students on connecting with others.
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"I use Snapchat, and that’s pretty much it. I don’t have TikTok or anything else," said Giselle Garcia, who is in 9th grade. "I spend maybe about two hours spread sporadically throughout the day. So like going to my classes I’ll do a few things, share something with my friends and that’s pretty much it."
How kids spend their time online matters. Barbara Garcia said she monitors her daughter Giselle’s phone use.
"It was really important for me that she doesn’t put all herself out there or what she’s doing all the time or just be friends with people who you don’t know and have a closed circle so that you actually know these people," said Barbara Garcia.
The event came the same day Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody shared that Florida joined at least 40 other states in a lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. It alleges Meta knowingly designed harmful features in its platforms that addict young users and impact their mental health.
Security experts like James McQuiggan said that’s how the products are designed.
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"It's very much enticing where you're going through and seeing the different, you know, posts or dances or information about friends or whatever. And then it becomes engaging," said McQuiggan, a security awareness advocate with KnowBe4.
And that’s where he said personal responsibility comes in.
"I believe it is a matter of ourselves to make sure that we are regulating ourselves. We can have technology that can help us do it as well," said McQuiggan.
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Attorneys said the lawsuit alleges federal law-breaking, so it will go through federal court.
"We're talking about two things changing the company's practices and also getting restitution, compensation for damages that the Florida attorney general can prove," said Dale Appell, an attorney with the law offices of Dale Appell. "I think America, the American parents recognize that their children's involvement and engagement with social media is having an impact, and they’re seeing that with their own two eyes [and] are also hearing it from reports and studies. All the attorneys general are stepping in to help these parents resolve a problem that has become a big issue in the minds of their constituents."
No matter how things shake out, there’s a focus on protecting children. Some teens like Garcia said they are keeping online safety in mind for what they like, comment on, and post.
"I think it’s really important for kids to realize that these things carry with you throughout your entire life and especially when you try to get into other schools and stuff, people look at that stuff as well," said Garcia.