美多州起诉Meta：指控其设计成瘾功能伤害儿童，索赔约2000亿美元

, THIS TIME FACING ALLEGATIONS THAT IT KNOWINGLY DESIGNED INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK TO KEEP CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS HOOKED, EVEN AS IT LEARNED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL HARM TO THEIR MENTAL HEALTH. ATTORNEYS GENERAL FROM CALIFORNIA, COLORADO, KENTUCKY, AND NEW JERSEY ARE SEEKING CHANGES TO HOW META OPERATES ITS PLATFORMS AND ROUGHLY $200 BILLION IN PENALTIES. THEY ARE PART OF A LARGER GROUP OF 29 STATES THAT SUED THE TECH GIANT OVER CHILD SAFETY AND PRIVACY.

THE OTHER STATES WILL GO TO TRIAL LATER. THE STATES ARGUE META DESIGNED ITS APPS TO QUOTE, "HOOK THE USERS, HOLD THEM FOR AS LONG AS THEY CAN, HARVEST THEIR DATA, AND HIDE THE TRUTH FROM THE PUBLIC." A META SPOKESPERSON CALLED THOSE CLAIMS UNSUBSTANTIATED, SAYING THE COMPANY STANDS BY ITS RECORD OF PROTECTING MINORS ON THEIR PLATFORMS. FOR MORE, WE'RE JOINED BY BLOOMBERG TECH REPORTER ALEXANDRA LEVINE, WHO'S BEEN COVERING THIS TRIAL.

ALEXANDRA, WELCOME, THANKS FOR JOINING US.

THANKS FOR HAVING ME. AMNA: META AND OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES HAVE FACED THIS BEFORE, HOW IS THIS TRIAL DIFFERENT? ALEXANDRA: WE HAVE BEEN HEARING ABOUT ALLEGED HARMS FOR YEARS, BUT IN THE PAST A LOT OF THE FOCUS HAS BEEN ON THE CONTENT POSTED TO THE PLATFORMS. RIGHT NOW THE FOCUS IS MAINLY ON PRODUCT DESIGN SO HOW THE ACTUAL PRODUCTS OF INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK HAVE BEEN BUILT TO KEEP CHILDREN HOOKED AND HARM THEM.

CERTAIN DESIGN FEATURES AND THESE ARE DEEP-SEATED BUSINESS PRACTICES INTEGRAL TO THE PLATFORMS BUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CONTENT POSTED AND THE PRODUCT DESIGN IS THE KEY DIFFERENCE. AND IN ADDITION TO SEEKING MONETARY PENALTIES THE STATE AG'S WOULD LIKE TO SEE INJUNCTIVE RELIEF MEASURES TO CHANGE THE WAY THEY OPERATE. AMNA: WHEN THE STATES SAY META DESIGNED ITS PRODUCTS TO BE ADDICTIVE FOR MINORS, WHAT FEATURES ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT?

ALEXANDRA: WE ARE OF COURSE TALKING ABOUT THE ALGORITHM ALSO FEATURES LIKE INFINITE SCROLL WIDTHS KEEPS PEOPLE CONTINUOUSLY SCROLLING. THERE ARE CERTAIN FEATURES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH LIKES BEING DISPLAYED, PUSH NOTIFICATIONS GOING OFF AT ALL HOURS OF THE DAY AND THE NIGHT WHEN CHILDREN ARE SUPPOSED TO BE SLEEPING. THERE ARE DATA COLLECTION PRACTICES, THESE ARE ALL PART OF THE ACTUAL DESIGN ISSUES THAT THE STATE AG'S ARE POINTING OUT THE PLATFORMS.

AMNA: META SAID IN A WRITTEN STATEMENT, THEY SAY WE ARE PROUD OF OUR RECORD IN PROTECTING TEENS ON OUR PLATFORMS AND THE AMOUNT OF EFFORT WE HAVE PUT INTO DEVELOPING PROTECTIONS OVER THE YEARS EVEN BEFORE THESE CASES WERE EVER FILED AND CONTINUING TO THE PRESENT DAY. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THOSE PROTECTIONS? WHAT DO THEY POINT TOWARD? ALEXANDRA: WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN DEFAULT PRIVACY PROTECTIONS FOR MINORS AND RESTRICTIONS FOR ACCOUNTS UNDER THE AGE OF 18.

SO MANY ARE SIGNING UP USING FAKE BIRTHDAYS AND META SAID AGE VERIFICATION IS AN INDUSTRYWIDE PROBLEM AND BECAUSE THEY HAVE ALL THINGS OF THE PROTECTIONS THAT THEY SHOULD NOT BE PENALIZED FOR AN INDUSTRYWIDE PROBLEM AND IT IS MORE ABOUT AND PROTECT THEM IN THAT WAY. GEOF