Newly unredacted court filings have revealed that employees at Meta Platforms (formerly known as Facebook) and ByteDance were aware of the harmful effects their platforms could have on young people but chose to disregard or undermine the information. The documents, filed in a lawsuit over social media addiction, provide details on how much executives, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, knew about the harms of social media and the misgivings they had about it.
The case, which includes scores of complaints filed across the US on behalf of adolescents and young adults, alleges that Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube caused users to suffer from anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and sleeplessness. The companies have also been blamed for more than a dozen suicides based on claims that they knowingly designed algorithms that drew children down dangerous and addictive paths.
According to the new filing, internal documents at TikTok parent ByteDance show that the company knows young people are more susceptible to being lured into trying dangerous stunts they view on the platform, known as “viral challenges” because their ability to weigh risk is not fully developed. The documents also suggest that young people are more likely to “overestimate their ability to cope with risk,” and their “ability to understand the finality of death is also not fully developed.”
The unsealed filings further reveal that, instead of addressing problems around children’s use of Instagram and Facebook, Meta defunded its mental health team. Both social media giants point to a 1996 law that gives internet platforms broad immunity from claims over harmful content posted by users. The Supreme Court is currently hearing a case that will likely determine the fate of the lawsuit in Oakland.
About Author
