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States sue Instagram-parent Meta over ‘addictive’ features and youth mental health harms | CNN Business

By Thomas A. Smith
CNN    

Dozens of states sued Instagram-parent Meta on Tuesday, accusing the social media giant of harming young users mental health through allegedly addictive features such as infinite news feeds and frequent notifications that demand users constant attention.

In a federal lawsuit filed in California by 33 attorneys general, the states allege that Meta s products have harmed minors and contributed to a mental health crisis in the United States.

Meta has profited from children s pain by intentionally designing its platforms with manipulative features that make children addicted to their platforms while lowering their self-esteem, said Letitia James, the attorney general for New York, one of the states involved in the federal suit. Social media companies, including Meta, have contributed to a national youth mental health crisis and they must be held accountable.

Eight additional attorneys general sued Meta on Tuesday in various state courts around the country, making similar claims as the massive multi-state federal lawsuit.

And the state of Florida sued Meta in its own separate federal lawsuit, alleging that Meta misled users about potential health risks of its products.

via www.cnn.com