Minnesota joins coalition of 42 attorneys general claiming Meta knowingly created addictive platforms

(St. Paul, MN) -- The Minnesota Attorney General's Office is joining a coalition of 42 attorneys general in state and federal courts that claims Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, willingly designed and deployed features that are intentionally addictive to children and teenagers. 

Attorney General Keith Ellison joined the federal complaint filed in the Northern District of California, saying Meta violated state consumer protection laws and the Federal Children's Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA). Ellison and the coalition of attorneys general claim Meta knew the features had harmful impacts, and that the company intentionally misled the public by concealing harms caused by social media addiction. Additionally, the coalition claims meta knowingly collected data from active users, some younger than 13 years old. 

“It’s my job to protect Minnesotans, especially the most vulnerable. Meta is very intentionally trying to manipulate our children and teens into spending as much time on their platforms as possible, despite knowing this is causing serious harm,” said Attorney General Ellison. “Meta’s efforts to addict our young people and sacrifice their well-being for engagement is disgraceful, predatory, and illegal. I’m joining a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general to hold them accountable for it.”

The coalition is seeking both "injunctive and monetary relief" in the filings. 

North Dakota is among the list of states who have joined the coalition against Meta. A full list can be found by clicking here.