Republicans and Democrats lawmakers are more distant than ever, but they rallied together in their criticism of the parent company of Facebook, Meta. On Tuesday, a coalition of 42 attorneys general from both parties filed suit against Meta over features that stimulate addiction among kids and teens. Ohio Republican Attorney General Dave Yost released a statement exclaiming, "Given that children, when they're on these platforms, become vulnerable to cyberbullying and online predators, Meta has only exacerbated the injury by further hurting our children."
On Tuesday, a bipartisan coalition of 33 attorneys general filed a joint federal lawsuit against Facebook's parent company, Meta, accusing them of knowingly implementing addictive features in their apps that harm children's mental health and contribute to problems such as teenage eating disorders. An additional nine attorneys general are filing lawsuits in their respective states.
"Kids and teenagers are suffering from record levels of poor mental health and social media companies like Meta are to blame," stated Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat. "Meta has profited from children's pain by intentionally designing its platforms with manipulative features that make children addicted to their platforms while lowering their self-esteem."
Jonathan Skrmetti, Tennessee's Republican Attorney General, commented on the current political polarization in the U.S., saying, "For all of the attorneys general from both parties, people who frequently disagree very vocally and very publicly, to all come together and to move in the same direction, I think that says something." He went on to express his agreement with James on the subject of Meta.
Political dysfunction has been especially prominent in the House of Representatives in recent weeks. In September, Republican-led committees were told to open an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden by incoming Speaker Kevin McCarthy, only to have him work with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown shortly after. This angered a subset of the Republican party, leading to a motion to vacate the speaker role that has left the House without a leader for the last three weeks.
When it comes to Mark Zuckerberg, legislators seem to find common ground. In 2020, for instance, a group of attorneys general from 48 states and territories filed two separate antitrust-related lawsuits against the company. Despite their general disapproval of Facebook, Instagram and company leadership, party leaders don't necessarily have the same specific criticisms. Democrats like to focus on the company's history of data privacy scandals, while leading Republicans have concentrated more on Meta's content moderation policies which they claim unfairly censor conservative views. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, even discussed the possibility of holding Zuckerberg in contempt of Congress until Meta provided the lawmakers with documents related to their censorship investigation.
Where the parties converge is in seeing the harmful effects on kids. Dave Yost, Ohio's Republican attorney general, said in a statement that the bipartisan lawsuit is needed to "compel the company to change its ways" because parents are allowing kids to use Meta's apps. Pennsylvania's Democratic AG Michelle Henry echoed this sentiment, saying, "The time has come for social media giants to stop trading in our children's mental health for big profits."
Andy Stone, a Meta spokesperson, said in a statement that the company has introduced more than 30 tools "to support teens and their families." He added, "We're disappointed that instead of working productively with companies across the industry to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps teens use, the attorneys general have chosen this path."
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