A law firm just criticized Meta with eight lawsuits in several states, alleging that Facebook and Instagram are detrimental to the mental health of young people.
The firm, Beasley Allen, released a statement saying Meta not only “exploits youth for profit” but deliberately made its platforms psychologically addictive and failed to protect its users.
Beasley Allen cites the month of October 2021 Testimony of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugenwhere Haugen discussed how the platform negatively impacts young users, as well as leaked documents showing how the platform platform knew it was “toxic” for teenage girls.
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“Defendants knew that their products and related services were dangerous to young and impressionable children and adolescents, but completely ignored their own information,” Andy Birchfield, attorney for Beasley Allen, said in the statement. “They implemented sophisticated algorithms designed to encourage frequent access to the platforms and prolonged exposure to harmful content.”
Birchfield went on to say that the people behind these platforms made a decision to “aggressively addicte teenagers in the name of corporate profit”, rather than designing them to minimize harm. It’s time for Meta to address these growing concerns, she said.
The worries are really amazing. The lawsuits state that prolonged use of the platform has led to mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, and eating disorders, as well as self-harm and suicide attempts.
What will come out of these lawsuits remains to be seen, but they are the last scrutiny Meta has faced, and probably won’t be the last.
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