Meta battles Mass. in court over allegedly designing apps to be addictive to kids

"The lawsuit, filed in 2024 by Attorney General Andrea Campbell, alleges that Meta did this to make a profit and that its actions affected hundreds of thousands of teenagers in Massachusetts who use the social media platforms. "We are making claims based only on the tools that Meta has developed because its own research shows they encourage addiction to the platform in a variety of ways," said State Solicitor David Kravitz, adding that the state's claim has nothing to do the company's algorithms or failure to moderate content."

"Meta said Friday that it strongly disagrees with the allegations and is "confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people." Its attorney, Mark Mosier, argued in court that the lawsuit "would impose liabilities for performing traditional publishing functions" and that its actions are protected by the First Amendment."

""I didn't understand the claims to be that Meta is relaying false information vis-a-vis the notifications but that it has created an algorithm of incessant notifications ... designed so as to feed into the fear of missing out, fomo, that teenagers generally have," Justice Dalila Wendlandt said."

Attorney General Andrea Campbell filed a 2024 lawsuit claiming Meta designed features on Facebook and Instagram to make them addictive to young users in order to increase profit, affecting hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts teenagers. State Solicitor David Kravitz cited Meta research as evidence that its tools encourage addiction while excluding claims about algorithms or content moderation. Meta denied the allegations, stated a commitment to supporting young people, and argued that liability would improperly target traditional publishing functions protected by the First Amendment. Judges focused on platform functions such as incessant notifications and their link to teens' fear of missing out.

Read at Fast Company