US states sue Meta seeking $200 billion over teen safety
Meta (yes, Instagram's parent company) is being sued by 29 US states for allegedly putting user engagement ahead of teen safety.
The states want $200 billion in penalties, saying Meta downplayed risks to young users.
The trial is now in its second week in California and revealed that only a tiny fraction of users actually used Instagram's safety features, just 1.8% tried "Take a Break" and 8.7% used "Quiet Mode."
Ex-Meta staff criticize Instagram safety features
Former Meta staff didn't hold back: one called "Take a Break" basically "designed to fail," and another said leadership avoided making Quiet Mode automatic because they worried it would hurt engagement.
Both Instagram head Adam Mosseri and Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg are expected to testify soon, while Meta has denied the allegations.