Meta sued by 33 state AGs for addictive features targeting kids

L4sBot@lemmy.worldmod to Technology@lemmy.world – 378 points – Meta sued by 42 attorneys general alleging Facebook, Instagram features are addictive and target kids
cnbc.com

Meta sued by 33 state AGs for addictive features targeting kids::The lawsuits demonstrate the broad bipartisan interest in protecting kids and teens from online harm.

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Literally designed to keep you scrolling forever

Once I switched to Lemmy from Reddit, my social media usage dropped about 50%. I am active here, but nowhere near what I was on Reddit. Also, I get a lot less angry.

After I disabled all the personalization "features" for Android, the news tiles got a lot more boring. It shows major stories that might refresh every other day or so now.

Getting away from algorithmic news feeds was the best thing that happened in my life.

You'd think that eventually companies would realize that (while profitable in the short term) stoking your customers into a frothing rage is bad for business.

But no, billionaires are building compounds with bunkers and shit while the rest of us doomscroll to oblivion.

Prediction: Meta pays 0.001% of profits in fines, promises not to do it again, everyone carries on as before, even Meta.

So 33 or 42?

Yeah it's confusing:

Meta is now facing multiple lawsuits on this issue in several districts. Attorneys general from 33 states filed a federal suit against Meta in the Northern District of California, while nine additional attorneys general are filing in their own states

So 33 federal, and 9 additional at the state level. 42.

(42's always the answer, and in this case we actually know the question too.)

Give unto Caesar that which is Caesar's

—Jesus Christ [literally]

Edit: The Zuck actually fancies himself an Emperor and is obsessed with the like

Is this illegal? And can’t the same be said for many video games?

The key difference is that Meta mislead parents, and breached privacy laws by gathering children's data to further enhance advertising.

The lawsuit claims that Meta’s platforms were designed to maximize the time children and teenagers spend on its apps using psychologically manipulative features, and falsely portrayed its products as safe, all in an effort to generate profit .

The lawsuit suggests a perceived lack of transparency and potential violation of federal children’s online privacy laws, which is being challenged in court. This legal action could set a precedent for how digital platforms, including video games, might be regulated in the future, especially regarding features that could be seen as exploitative or harmful to younger users.

In comparison, video games have a rating system in place to help parents decide if it's suitable for their children, and exploitative mechanics like Loot Boxes were banned in Europe for under 18yo.

Thanks for the reply. This makes sense. Reminds me of when Facebook got in trouble for emotionally manipulating people for science. I’m sure all that was done for the purpose of refining their algorithm to make it more addictive.