Lawsuit Claims Meta is a 'Marketplace for Predators'

Facts

• New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed a civil lawsuit against Meta Platforms on Tuesday, accusing the company of creating a 'marketplace for predators' on Instagram and Facebook.¹
• According to court documents, Torrez has alleged that Instagram and Facebook expose children to explicit content and allow predators to contact minors, in violation of New Mexico law.²
• Raul Torrez said that, as part of an investigation, his office had set up fake accounts that appeared to belong to teenagers — they allegedly received pornographic pictures and solicitations from adult users.³
• Torrez claims his investigation has revealed that certain child exploitative content was up to 'ten times' more prevalent on Instagram and Facebook, compared to sites like Pornhub and OnlyFans.⁴
• Although, under US laws, companies are protected from liability for content posted on their platforms, the lawsuit claims that the content recommendations made by Meta's software show it wasn't acting as a publisher.⁴
• In response, Meta has said it uses 'sophisticated technology' and employs child safety experts, among other measures, to protect young users from child predators on its platforms.⁵

Sources: ¹CBS, ²CNN, ³Verge, ⁴BBC News and ⁵FOX News.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by The Indian Express. Even though Meta isn't legally responsible for the content posted on its platforms, the social media company makes great efforts to prevent child exploitation on its sites. Mark Zuckerberg's involvement in the first child safety cross-platform signal-sharing program reflects the seriousness with which tech firms have been overseeing compliance and redressals when their child safety policies are violated.
• Narrative B, as provided by NPR Online News. Meta's deception — even in light of its own research showing the addictive and explicit nature of its platforms for minors — is reminiscent of Big Tobacco's assault on public health and its harmful lying when faced with litigation in the '90s. However, like the tobacco companies, we can hope that Meta will be forced to pay restitution and develop ways to make their platforms safer.
• Narrative C, as provided by Fortune Well. Past lawsuits against Meta and other big tech firms have had mixed results, which is why parents should be taking the initiative — speaking with their children about how social media is affecting them, limiting their screen time, and making efforts to monitor the type of content their kids are consuming. The tech giant has internal controls, but parenting is and should always be the first line of defense.

Predictions