Oakland, California – Meta knowingly hooked and exploited children, a U.S. federal court heard Tuesday in a trial against the social media giant on charges that it deliberately made Instagram and Facebook addictive to young users.
In what many experts have called social media’s “big tobacco moment,” a coalition of states is asking that Meta be penalized by around $200 billion for designing products addictive to children.
The states are intervening where “Congress failed to act,” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said Tuesday afternoon during a press conference, noting that — like landmark cases against tobacco companies from decades past — this case, too, involved “public health, and in some cases, marketing to kids that hurt kids.”
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.