Facebook, Instagram Harming Our Country, State of NJ Says in Lawsuit

TRENTON — New Jersey has joined dozens of other states in suing Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, claiming the tech giant knowingly pushes features harmful to kids.

The federal lawsuit filed in California claims that Meta knew its platforms were harmful to young people, including their ability to get adequate sleep. But the company continued to design features that would be addictive to children, further fueling what the U.S. Surgeon General has deemed a "youth mental health crisis" throughout the country, authorities said.

The ongoing crisis has "damaged the potential of a generation of young people" and even ended lives, the NJ Attorney General's Office said announcing the lawsuit.

The mental health of children has never been more at risk than in the era of social media, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said.

"That is why today, I join dozens of other Attorneys General to once and for all hold Meta and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, accountable for deceptive, manipulative practices on Instagram and Facebook that they knew were harmful. Profits – not people, not its most vulnerable users, children and teens – drive the decision-making at Meta. That stops today," Platkin said.

Meta collecting kids' private data, lawsuit claims

Instagram and Facebook also knowingly and in violation of federal law collected the private data of users that the companies knew were under 13 years old, the OAG said.

This went on behind the scenes while Meta publically disavowed the practice of targeting the "vulnerable, but untapped" demographic, according to officials and a Wall Street Journal report.

Addictive features to keep kids hooked

Instagram and Facebook use several features to keep children on the platform for as long as possible to maximize engagement despite the impact it would have on them, the states claim.

The infinite scroll allows users to get a constant feed of new content. Aza Raskin, who created the feature in 2006, said to the BBC that the feature was designed to be as addicting as possible.

“If you don't give your brain time to catch up with your impulses... you just keep scrolling," Raskin said.

The platforms also regularly push alerts with the intent of hooking young users, according to the OAG.

TikTok facing investigation

TikTok, which has similar features such as infinite scroll, is also under investigation. The Chinese-controlled app has refused to provide information despite requests from multiple states, according to the OAG.

Meta violated federal and state law by pushing these harmful features, according to the suit.

The lawsuit against Meta seeks monetary compensation and injunctive relief.