The Guardian’s Dara Kerr reports in a recent article that Meta is facing a landmark trial in which California and 28 other US states accuse the company of deliberately designing Facebook and Instagram to be addictive and harmful to children, while allegedly collecting data from users under 13 without parental consent. Prosecutors characterize Meta’s approach as “hook, hold, harvest & hide”, attracting children to its platforms, keeping them engaged, harvesting their data and concealing the resulting harms. Meta denies the allegations and says it has measures to protect young users.
Kerr highlights testimony from former Meta safety engineer Arturo Béjar, who said the company knew about harmful experiences affecting teenagers but failed to adequately address them. His research found that 51% of surveyed Instagram teens reported a harmful experience in the previous week, while only 0.02% of the relevant content was removed.
The Guardian also places the case in the context of two recent court losses for Meta: nearly $1bn over child sexual exploitation allegations in New Mexico and more than $4m in a case involving the alleged addictive design of its products. According to Kerr, the current states’ case could expose Meta to up to $200bn in damages and force changes to its platforms.
Acknowledgement: This summary was generated using AI writing tools as part of my AI exploration process. For more information, check out the original article listed below.