The companies that own Facebook and Instagram have relied on both social media platforms for years to collect personal data and sell it to advertisers to keep children and adolescents engaged for as long as possible, the state said. a group of prosecutors alleges in a recently unsealed complaint.
33 state attorneys general filed a federal lawsuit against Meta Details were not immediately released at the time, but were announced in October. But the complaint released Wednesday provides more details, including allegations from police.
State prosecutors alleged that Meta used highly manipulative algorithms and technological tools to harm young users of Facebook and Instagram.
According to the complaint, these techniques were intentionally deployed by Meta to attract and maintain engagement by collecting personal information, including advertisers’ personal information (as required by law), without parental consent. It is said that
Attorneys general from states from California to Wisconsin are joining the lawsuit. According to the 233-page complaint, they allege that compulsive use of Facebook and IG by teens and children can cause physical and psychological harm.
State prosecutors built their case in part using e-mail snippets, earnings reports and other internal communications. All of this suggests that the time between young users’ personal information and the company’s profits is at a premium.
In an emailed statement in October, when the joint lawsuit was filed, Mehta said he was disappointed in the direction the attorney general had taken.
Meta is determined to “provide a safe and positive online experience” for youth and has already deployed more than 30 tools to support youth and their families, the company said at the time.
“The complaint uses selective quotes and cherry-picked documents to mischaracterize our work,” a Mehta spokesperson said in a statement Monday.
“Time spent”
State prosecutors say in the complaint that Meta’s business strategy for further growth and profits refers to how long the website can keep users engaged with posts, photos, videos and other content. It claims that it is based on so-called “time spent”. The longer a user stays on Facebook or IG, the more personal data the platform can collect, according to the complaint.
“Increasing the amount of time spent on Meta’s platform increases the effective delivery of targeted advertising, which is critical to Meta’s ability to generate revenue,” the complaint says. .
According to the complaint, one of the ways Meta keeps users on its social media platforms is by implementing a special technique called a “recommendation algorithm.”
“These algorithms do not promote any specific meta message,” the complaint alleges. “Rather, the algorithm works on a user-by-user basis, detecting material that each individual is likely to engage with and showing them more and more similar material in order to maximize time spent on the platform and user data collected.” To do.”
Users under 13 years old
State prosecutors allege that Meta collects the personal data of all Facebook and Instagram users, including those under the age of consent. The lawsuit alleges that the tech giant collects data from users under the age of 13 even though the platform did not obtain parental consent.
Prosecutors allege the data collection violates the 1998 federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Regulation.
Meta said in a statement that no one under the age of 13 is allowed to have an account on Instagram, and that the company always deletes accounts of underage users.
“However, verifying people’s age online is a complex challenge for the industry,” the company said. “For example, many people, especially those under the age of 13, do not have IDs, which is why Meta is making sure that teens under the age of 16 get parental approval before downloading an app. We support federal legislation that would require app stores to do so.”
The question of how the Meta platform affects young children came to the forefront in 2021 after Meta employee-turned-whistleblower Francis Haugen shared documents from an internal investigation. Now. In an interview with CBS News’ Scott Pelley, Haugen mentioned data showing Instagram. worsen suicidal thoughts and eating disorders among certain teenage girls.
“Meth knows what they are doing is bad for children,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement Monday. “Thanks to our unredacted federal complaint, it now exists in black and white, and it’s awful.”