Mark Zuckerberg Accused of Ignoring Meta’s Efforts to Tackle Teen Wellbeing Concerns in Unredacted Lawsuit, Says Report
A lawsuit filed the Massachusetts attorney general against Meta has revealed that Mark Zuckerberg disregarded top executives’ calls to address child safety issues, according to a report Business Insider. The legal action, initially filed last month, alleges that Zuckerberg ignored requests Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, to invest in the staff to address teen wellbeing areas of concern, such as bullying and harassment and suicidal tendencies.
Additionally, the lawsuit accuses Zuckerberg of vetoing the removal of cosmetic surgery filters on Instagram, despite internal efforts to change company policies and expert opinions suggesting the filters were detrimental to mental health.
According to the report, Meta did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment. However, a spokesperson told The Washington Post that the company has over 30 tools and resources in place to keep teens safe and added that the complaint was “filled with selective quotes from handpicked documents” that fail to provide the full context.
The lawsuit, filed as part of a wave of legal actions against Meta, highlights concerns over the impact of social media platforms on young people’s mental health and well-being.
In the lawsuit, Clegg is reported to have emphasized that it was “increasingly urgent” to address the impact of Meta’s products on young people’s mental health and that the company’s wellbeing work was “both understaffed and fragmented.”
The unredacted lawsuit also revealed that a 2020 meeting with Zuckerberg regarding the cosmetic surgery filters was cancelled, and the CEO reportedly vetoed a proposal to prohibit the filters despite expert opinions suggesting harm.
Considering the growing scrutiny of social media platforms and their impact on users’ mental health, this lawsuit adds to the mounting pressure on Meta and other similar companies to address these concerns in a responsible manner.