Meta is accused of profiting off of young users and deliberately designing features to capture and prolong their attention on their platforms.

The states sue Meta over child safety

Meta is accused of profiting off of young users and deliberately designing features to capture and prolong their attention on their platforms. https://www.platformer.news/p/the-states-sue-meta-over-child-safety?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=7976&post_id=138253699&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=6hfx4&utm_medium=email

Sam Mendoza

Ever wonder how valuable young users are to social media companies? A new Harvard study has the answer, calculating how much social media apps made from advertising that targeted minors in 2022: $11 billion. 

Meanwhile, more and more states are passing laws that force social media companies to go further in protecting their child users. But their efforts won’t be easy. In 2021, California passed a law requiring companies like Meta to prioritize kids when they make new features; the law was temporarily blocked by a federal judge in September, and now languishes in legislative purgatory. Considering how much money these platforms make from minors, expect social media companies to put up a fight. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/facebook-instagram-tiktok-snapchat-children-advertising-2022-harvard-study/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=article_email&utm_content=article-12023&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sg
#Digital Wellness 📱🧘

Digital Wellness 📱🧘

Ever wonder how valuable young users are to social media companies? A new Harvard study has the answer, calculating how much social media apps made from advertising that targeted minors in 2022: $11 billion.   Meanwhile, more and more states are passing laws that force social media companies to go further in protecting their child users. But their efforts won’t be easy. In 2021, California passed a law requiring companies like Meta to prioritize kids when they make new features; the law was temporarily blocked by a federal judge in September, and now languishes in legislative purgatory. Considering how much money these platforms make from minors, expect social media companies to put up a fight.   https://www.cbsnews.com/news/facebook-instagram-tiktok-snapchat-children-advertising-2022-harvard-study/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=article_email&utm_content=article-12023&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sg #Digital Wellness 📱🧘

Snaphat, TikTok, Youtube and others generated billions in profits last year from advertising targeting young users, a Harvard study shows.

Social media apps made $11 billion from children and teens in 2022

New Mexico sued Meta Platforms, alleging that the company recommends sexual online content to underage people who use its social media platforms

https://www.wsj.com/tech/facebook-and-instagram-steer-predators-to-children-new-mexico-attorney-general-alleges-in-lawsuit-b76a5b04?mod=followamazon&utm_campaign=article_email&utm_content=article-11862&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sg

New Mexico sued Meta Platforms, alleging that the company recommends sexual online content to underage people who use its social media platforms  https://www.wsj.com/tech/facebook-and-instagram-steer-predators-to-children-new-mexico-attorney-general-alleges-in-lawsuit-b76a5b04?mod=followamazon&utm_campaign=article_email&utm_content=article-11862&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sg

State investigators’ test accounts with AI-generated photos were deluged with sexual propositions and adult sex content, the suit claims. Meta says it works hard to protect young users.

Facebook and Instagram Steer Predators to Children, New Mexico Attorney General Alleges in Lawsuit

Nate

The unsealed passages include material about an internal test conducted in 2021, which showed that after a “test user” followed several Instagram accounts promoting eating disorders, the app’s recommendation system pushed the user to follow more accounts related to anorexia.

An internal presentation from the same year, which is also cited in the suit, notes that teenage users struggle  with “constant negative comparisons” on Instagram because of the types of content they are recommended and the fact that “like” counts on their posts are visible to all.

https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/unsealed-meta-lawsuit-reveals-internal-knowledge-of-teen-harms?utm_campaign=%5BTI-AM%5D+The+Informat&utm_content=131&utm_medium=email&utm_source=cio&utm_term=32&rc=gzsl71

The unsealed passages include material about an internal test conducted in 2021, which showed that after a “test user” followed several Instagram accounts promoting eating disorders, the app’s recommendation system pushed the user to follow more accounts related to anorexia.  An internal presentation from the same year, which is also cited in the suit, notes that teenage users struggle  with “constant negative comparisons” on Instagram because of the types of content they are recommended and the fact that “like” counts on their posts are visible to all.  https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/unsealed-meta-lawsuit-reveals-internal-knowledge-of-teen-harms?utm_campaign=%5BTI-AM%5D+The+Informat&utm_content=131&utm_medium=email&utm_source=cio&utm_term=32&rc=gzsl71

Newly unsealed portions of a lawsuit filed by a collection of state attorneys general against Meta Platforms has offered fresh insights into what the company knew about how its apps harm teenage users

Sam Mendoza

A group of likeminded people in Digital Wellness 📱🧘 are talking about this.