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Meta class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Plaintiff Cedric Williams has filed a class action lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc. and other affiliated entities.
- Why: Meta’s social media platforms Facebook and Instagram are allegedly designed to be addictive in order to drive profit and can create serious teen mental health issues.
- Where: The Meta class action lawsuit was filed in Louisiana federal court.
Meta Platforms Inc. and affiliated entities are facing a class action lawsuit alleging Meta knowingly exploited children and negatively impacted teen mental health to drive corporate profit.
Plaintiff Cedric Williams says he is a heavy user of the Meta platforms. He says the addictive design of Meta products and constant notifications caused him to engage in problematic use of the products.
Williams alleges he became addicted to the Meta platforms and ultimately suffered adverse consequences “including loss of relationships, depression, social anxiety, and a reduced inclination or ability to sleep.”
The Meta class action lawsuit alleges that Meta’s products, including Facebook and Instagram, are designed to maximize users’ screen time, modifying the products to promote excessive use that they know could lead to self-destructive behaviors.
Addictive Meta platforms negatively affect teen mental health, plaintiff says
Facebook and Instagram collectively have more than 2 billion users, according to the Meta class action lawsuit.
Williams is an adult, but the Meta class action lawsuit expresses concerns about the platforms’ known risks to teen mental health. Nine out of 10 teens utilize social media platforms, and use them for approximately three hours each day, Williams claims.
“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,” the Meta class action lawsuit says.
Social media use may facilitate cyberbullying, eating disorders, sleep deprivation, negative self-image, and has reportedly been connected to anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide, according to the Meta class action lawsuit.
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy recently released a public advisory about the potential effects of social media on youth and teen mental health.
Meta knew that its platforms were designed to be aggressively addictive but failed to warn consumers about the risks of social media addiction, Williams alleges.
Williams filed the Meta class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and a proposed class of other consumers who used Facebook and suffered mental health issues as a result of using the social media platform.
Are you concerned about social media’s affect on teen mental health? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!
Williams is represented by Andrew A. Lemmon of Lemmon Law Firm LLC and by Paul J. Doolittle and Blake G. Abbott of Poulin Willey Anastopoulo LLC.
The Meta teen mental health class action lawsuit is Cedric Williams v. Meta Platforms Inc., et al., Case No. 2:23-cv-00927, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, Lake Charles Division.
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15 thoughts onMeta class action claims company’s drive for profit entraps teens, damages mental health
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My kids have been bullied and don’t want to stay off their phones.
Both my kids 17 & 19 have been bullied and or sucked literally into the phone like it’s more important that self care or keeping a routine. I see a disconnection from the reality of a “normal” daily lifestyle.