United States of America: Announced lawsuit against Meta for allegedly misleading the public about the addictive nature of their services (Case No. 57CV-23-47)

On 28 March 2023, the Attorney General (AG) of Arkansas filed on behalf of the state a lawsuit against Meta Platforms, Inc., Facebook Holdings, LLC, Facebook Operations, LLC, Meta Payments Inc., Facebook Technologies, LLC, Instagram, LLC, and Siculus, Inc. (Meta). The lawsuit alleges that the algorithms employed by Meta were deliberately designed to "exploit the psychological traits" of minors to increase the time they spend on Meta's platforms. The lawsuit mentions the increasing mental health struggles and disorders the youth of Arkansas are facing, which is only exacerbated by social media platforms operated by companies such as Meta. Specifically, the platforms are designed in a way that aims to attract and addict minors, push harmful material, and provide the youth with carefully considered "dopamine hits". According to the lawsuit, this process drives engagement, which helps increase profits. The AG claims that Meta specifically worked toward cultivating a young and impressionable audience and stated that the platforms Facebook and Instagram have contributed to the youth mental health crisis. The AG asked the court for an injunction prohibiting Meta from continuing to employ deceptive and harmful practices and civil penalties of 10'000 per violation.