Oakland, California ¨C Meta knowingly hooked and exploited children, a U.S. federal court heard Tuesday in a trial against the social media giant on charges that it deliberately made Instagram and Facebook addictive to young users.
In what many experts have called social media¡¯s ¡°big tobacco moment,¡± a coalition of states is asking that Meta be penalized by around $200 billion for designing products addictive to children.
The states are intervening where ¡°Congress failed to act,¡± Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said Tuesday afternoon during a press conference, noting that ¡ª like landmark cases against tobacco companies from decades past ¡ª this case, too, involved ¡°public health, and in some cases, marketing to kids that hurt kids.¡±
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