Meta class action alleges company’s platforms harm youths’ mental health

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Meta youth mental health class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: A young woman has sued Facebook and parent company Meta Platforms.
• Why: The lawsuit alleges Meta executives sacrificed children’s mental health to maximize advertising profits.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Florida federal court.

A young woman sued Facebook and its parent company Meta in a class action lawsuit, alleging she developed an addiction to the companies’ social media platforms and that corporate executives put profits above youth mental health.

Plaintiff Naomi Charles, 22, filed the class action complaint against Facebook and Meta Platforms Inc. in a Florida federal court June 6, claiming the companies’ corporate leaders sacrificed the health of children and other young people to drive advertising revenue in violation of consumer safety laws.

Charles says she was a “heavy user” of Meta products, including Facebook and Instagram, and fell prey to the company’s use of algorithms meant to keep people online. She says Facebook uses the algorithms despite research showing kids are particularly vulnerable to social media addiction and its poor health outcomes. 

As a result of her own addiction, Charles says she lost sleep, suffered from depression and attempted suicide.

“Given the delicate, developing nature of the teenage brain and Meta’s creation of social media platforms designed to be addictive, it comes as no surprise that we are now grappling with the ramifications of Meta’s growth-at-any-cost approach,” Charles says in the class action lawsuit.

More Meta mental health class actions to come in following weeks, law firm says 

Charles’ class action lawsuit is just one of dozens of similar cases law firm Beasley Allen Crow Methvin Portis & Miles LLC plans to file in the coming weeks, the firm told Law360.

Charles alleges that Meta’s algorithms exploit the fact that young users’ brains are not fully developed, making them impulsive, emotionally immature and less psychologically resilient. 

She says social media addiction can lead to anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia and suicide, among other harms.

Despite this, she claims Meta and Facebook “have failed to design their products with any protections to account for and ameliorate the psychosocial immaturity of their minor users.”

Charles’ lawsuit alleges breach of product liability, negligence fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She seeks damages, fees, costs, medical monitoring and a jury trial.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden spent part of his State of the Union address earlier this year urging Congress to prevent social media companies from collecting the personal data of underage users and targeting them with advertisements.

Do your or your underage child use social media? You may qualify to join a free social media and mental health investigation! 

Charles is represented by Andy D. Birchfield Jr., David Dearing, Jennifer K. Emmel, Joseph G. VanZandt, Clinton Richardson and Seth Harding of Beasley Allen Crow Methvin Portis & Miles LLC.

The Meta youth mental health class action lawsuit is Charles v. Meta Platforms Inc. et al., Case No. 1:22-cv-21721, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

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