Translated by Angela Tagliafierro
The reason
Meta, the company behind the well-known social network, Instagram and Facebook, is involved in a litigation in the United States of America. The lawsuit, initially started by the states of Colorado and California and later supported by 31 states more, states that Meta intentionally projected its operating systems to create addiction among young people, letting also children under thirteen years to create and run profiles/accounts on its social networks. So doing it violated the laws on the safeguard of consumers.
Harmful effects on young people
The prosecution highlights that Meta is aware of the damaging impact of social media on minors, mentioning internal researches that show how the app Instagram can contribute to provoke eating disorders among girls. Business documents reveal that Meta took advantage of the vulnerabilities of young psychology to project products which induce to a compulsive and prolonged use.
Minor’s account not removed and personal data
Meta is also accused of violating “Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act” (1998), which requires a verifiable authorization of the parents to let online services for children to collect personal data. The prosecution also argues that Meta hid to receiving millions of warning about the presence of minor users on Instagram and disable only a part of these accounts, violating the law.
Meta’s defence
To reply to the accusations, Meta defended its own position, highlighting the more than thirty options available on the operating systems to guarantee a safe social experience for teenagers and their parents. The company affirmed that the prosecution twisted the efforts made in the last ten years and showed the difficulty in verifying the users’ age since they don’t often have an identity card. Meta suggested relocating the responsibility on the shops of the apps belonging to Google and Apple, requiring them to ask for the parents’ consent when minors download the app.
Criticism to Meta’s defence
Organizations like the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children have criticized Meta, accusing it firstly to ignore the damages caused by their operating systems and then to throw the responsibility over other people rather than correct their own wrong attitude.
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