“Social media companies are and have been well aware of the harm they cause,” said James Frantz, a San Diego-based attorney representing the plaintiff districts, in a statement. “It must stop, and we will fight to hold these social media companies accountable for choosing profit over the mental health and safety of children and their families.”
Meta, one of the nation’s largest tech conglomerates which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, pointed to dozens of tools it has created to help teenagers and their families, including tools that verify users’ age and limit sensitive content for youth, notifications encouraging teenagers to take breaks from Instagram or from one topic, tools that allow parents to limit their kids’ time on Instagram and monitor their activity, and warnings that display if somebody is preparing to post an...
“We want to reassure every parent that we have their interests at heart in the work we’re doing to provide teens with safe, supportive experiences online,” said Antigone Davis, head of safety at Meta, in a statement. “These are complex issues, but we will continue working with parents, experts and regulators such as the state attorneys general to develop new tools, features and policies that meet the needs of teens and their families.
Sixteen school districts sue strawmen If schools switched to remote learning, which they did, they should not be surprised that students gravitated to other stuff that was much more engaging. Their alibi is a weak reed.