This week, the United States begins hearings on a potentially high-profile case in which Meta✴ To make a profit, platforms must prove that they do not intend to create psychological dependence among young users of social networks. At her first court hearing, she just point out About the lack of such intention.
Image source: Unsplash, Vitaly Gariev
The plaintiff in this case is an association representing the interests of 29 states in the United States and the two major political parties in the United States. This party is seeking to change the operating principles of social network Facebook✴ and Instagram✴and pay hundreds or even hundreds of billions of dollars in fines. Four major states charge $ in this case✴ The interface design of their apps can help induce psychological dependence in children and teenagers, leading to anxiety, depression and even suicidal tendencies. Furthermore, such plaintiffs allege that Meta✴ Misrepresent the safety of their social networks. All 29 states involved in the case accuse the company of violating U.S. laws regarding the collection of personal information from minors.
Hearings in the case began last Tuesday in federal court in Oakland, California. Assistant State Attorney Megan O’Neill said “Yuan✴ Attract users, keep them as long as possible, collect their data, and then hide the truth from the public. “. According to her, this strategy works especially well with children. At the same time, the company is working to reassure parents and others responsible for raising children that minors are safe.
Lawyer Yuan✴ Paul Schmidt counters that some social media users do have problems, but research does not show a direct correlation between these problems and the intensity of social media use. The company’s head, Mark Zuckerberg, has repeatedly said he wants to improve the services he provides, not make them more dangerous. In such case, the jury will issue a recommended verdict, subject to the limitations of Meta’s liability✴ That will be decided by District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. The company itself said it faced fines totaling $1.4 trillion; prosecutors insisted on damages of about $200 billion, roughly equivalent to Meta’s profits✴ Within three years.
Representatives from four U.S. states also called for Meta✴ Revolutionize your social network interface and ditch the likes and endless scrolling system. In addition, they called for limiting access to these resources to children under 13 and limiting the amount of time older minors spend on social networks during the day. At a court hearing, former Meta engineer✴ Security attorney Arturo Bejar previously testified against a former employer, claiming that the company initially realized that tools related to the security of underage users were not working. He said that market interests have always dominated Meta’s policies.✴and pay little attention to ethical and safety issues. Hearings in the case will last six weeks.
Prosecutors in the case insist that authorities in the 29 states had no intention of disrupting Meta’s business✴but they want to stop the company’s alleged exploitation of minors through its social network. An assistant prosecutor claimed that in internal communications, the head of Instagram✴ Adam Mosseri and his staff publicly compared the social network to narcotics distributed by company employees. Yuan✴ He allegedly believed that the sooner a teenager started using the company’s products, the better, and it was necessary to ensure that he stayed on relevant resources online for as long as possible. The company’s attorney denied such intent, although he acknowledged that employees may have used some inappropriate analogies and expressions in official communications. According to him, a Meta employee compared social networks to drugs✴ In fact, we try to make it safer. Opponents of meta-policy are now on duty outside the Oakland courthouse✴These include parents of teenagers who took their own lives due to long-term immersion in corporate social networks.
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