A Legal Analysis of Meta's Ongoing Lawsuits

On October 24th, 2023, a collective force of 33 states filed a lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The suit, filed in California district court, alleged that Meta had used advertising tailored towards children, which made them addicted to its services, while its failure to properly regulate its platforms created a dangerous and harmful environment for them. The lawsuit against Meta Platforms is of utmost importance to the SPRING Group. As an organization exclusively composed of students who are young adults, the members of the Group are in the age cohort that Meta has directly tailored its deceptive advertising towards. On top of our knowledge regarding the addictive effects of social media, such as Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, on younger children, SPRING fellows also have personal experiences with living childhoods defined by the constant usage of social networks. As part of its goal of highlighting youth viewpoints on issues of concern to them, SPRING seeks to bring the unique perspective of high school students into the states’ action against Meta. This brief analyzes the specific causes of action in the lawsuit, specifically Meta’s youth-tailored advertising, their negligence and misrepresentation to the public, as well as their harms on the physical and mental safety of younger users. It then delves into the validity of the lawsuit, how it is likely to be ruled upon, and what courts have done or will likely do with it.