Mark Zuckerberg Under Fire As Allegations Of Ignoring Social Media Addiction Among Adolescents Surface

A newly revealed court filing has brought to light that Meta Platforms Inc. META CEO Mark Zuckerberg was warned about the issue of social media addiction among teenagers. 

What Happened: According to the court filing, Meta and TikTok‘s parent company, ByteDance employees, were aware of the adverse effects of their social media platforms on young children and teenagers, reported Bloomberg.  

The filing says that Zuckerberg was personally warned about the same, but the companies chose to disregard the information and, in some cases, sought to undermine it. 

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The revelations came in a lawsuit over social media addiction filed previously, where key portions were sealed from public view. In an unredacted version filed over the weekend in Oakland, California, the federal court provided some details. 

Meta spokesperson said the statement that the company defunded work to support users’ well-being is false. In fact, because this [is] so important [to] our company, we actually increased funding, shown by the over 30 tools we offer to support teens and families,” the report noted. 

Meta did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comments. 

Why It’s Important: The case in Oakland is a consolidation of numerous complaints filed throughout the U.S. on behalf of adolescents and young adults who state that Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat Inc. SNAP, and Alphabet Inc.‘s GOOG GOOGL YouTube has resulted in anxiety, depression, eating disorders and sleep deprivation. 

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