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The family of a New York-based teen has sued Instagram for being too addictive. They are seeking $ 5 billion in damages and hoping to force Meta to ban some of its core features for users under 18. Meta is yet to respond but is expected to challenge the lawsuit.
The family of a 13-year-old New York teen is . The teenager, who has been named AA for privacy reasons, already has a lawyer acting on their behalf file a class action lawsuit against the company on Monday. The lawsuit claims that Instagram that encourages teens to keep scrolling forever.
The plaintiff is seeking $5 billion in damages and hoping to force the company to ban some of its core features for users under 18. It further added that despite being fully aware of the issue, Meta continues to ignore it. It has to its harmful features.
Not only that, opening an Instagram account is super easy. You don’t even need parental consent. About AA Not much is known about the primary plaintiff except the fact AA is a who started using Instagram at the young age of 10 and now spends about on the app, including one hour before sleeping.
Things have gotten so bad that she is unable to put away her phone. Even when doing her homework, she constantly checks her notifications. It has also , causing her to stay up late which in turn forces her to rush through her tasks.
Being away from her phone and not checking her notifications makes her and she constantly feels like her friends are ignoring her if they don’t engage with her posts. Sure, it’s partly the parent’s responsibility to fix this behavior. However, Instagram is equally to blame.
The platform yet AA was able to join at just 10. This goes on to show how insincere they are about vetting new users. And AA is not the only one.
Meta is well aware of the fact that more than and yet it has done nothing to remove these accounts. The EU had also launched a fresh investigation into Facebook and Instagram for ‘ ‘ on the platform. The EU claimed that Meta exploits minors to promote addictive behavior.
What Does Meta Have to Say? Meta is yet to respond to the lawsuit but it’s expected to challenge it. When reached for a comment, the company shared the same response it has shared a hundred times before – Meta and its platforms and have designed numerous tools to keep teens safe online. Is Instagram Really at Fault? There’s no direct answer to this but yes, the company has surely made some questionable choices.
For example, despite being , it made acquiring teenage users its number one agenda. This statement has been backed by several internal documents cited in the lawsuit. , an ex-Meta employee and a whistleblower, went on to accuse the Meta top management of doing nothing to protect minors, even when they knew everything.
As per his claims, as many as . Teenagers are also more and Instagram did nothing but fuel that. Thanks to AI, content creators now use AI filters and set unattainable beauty standards which further hampers a growing teen’s self-image.
For instance, if a teen is struggling with their first breakup, it will keep showing them breakup and betrayal-related posts to keep the unpleasant feeling flickering within them. The lawsuit concludes by saying that and the authorities for long enough but it’s time to bring an end to this. Meta needs to be stopped or else it will continue to harm young users.
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