Oklahoma has initiated a legal action against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. According to the lawsuit filed in Osage County, Meta is accused of using psychologically harmful features to entice children into prolonged engagement with its platforms. These features encompass functionalities like “infinite scrolling,” the ability to compare and “like” content from other users, and algorithms designed to elicit intermittent feelings of pleasure.
The lawsuit highlights the concerning state of teen mental health in Oklahoma, pointing out that over the decade leading up to 2021, there was a more than 50% increase in the percentage of teenagers who reported consistently feeling so sad or hopeless that they abandoned their usual activities.
The filing contends that Meta prioritized increasing user engagement to generate advertising revenue and gather user data for profit. State Attorney General Gentner Drummond, in a press release, accused Meta of “enriching itself” by exploiting vulnerable children and teenagers with unfair and deceptive practices, thereby exacerbating the youth mental health crisis.
Notably, Oklahoma’s allegations against the social media giant are in alignment with 33 other states that are suing Meta in federal court for similar reasons. Attorneys general across the nation point to internal company research, exposed by the Wall Street Journal, which documented Meta’s awareness of the negative effects of social media.
One such study revealed that 32% of teenage girls who already had negative body image perceptions felt even worse after using Instagram. Oklahoma is among the eight states pursuing legal action against Meta in state courts, and experts draw parallels between these actions and previous lawsuits against opioid companies and the tobacco industry.
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