A coalition of 33 states, along with nine attorneys general (AGs) who filed separate lawsuits, sued tech giant Meta Platforms (META) on Tuesday, alleging the company's social media platforms harm children and teenagers and accentuate a national mental health crisis.

The plaintiffs allege that Meta, which operates Facebook and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Instagram, targets children and teenagers with addictive and manipulative features to keep them engaged on its apps to maximiz𝓰e advertising revenue and profits.

To achieve this, plaintiffs say, Meta uses psychologically manipulative features such as "likes," pings, and other audiovisual and "haptic" alerts activated by touch, along with an infinite feed of posts to keep users engaged on the platform for as long as possible.

"The more time young users spend on Instagram and Facebook, the more Meta earns by selling advertising targeted to those users," the plaintiffs wrote.

The state AGs also allege that Meta has violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule, or COPPA, which imposes certain requirements on online platforms that collect the information of children under the age of 13. Among the damages sought, the state AGs are hoping to force M𝓡eta to change its practices and comply with COPPA, including obtaining parents' consent before collecting and monetizing personal data.

With the exception of Maine, the state AGs are also seeking monetary damages and other forms of compensation, including lawyers' fees and costs incurred by the states and their attorneys general.

Meta shares lost about 0.5% Tuesday, giving up gains from earlier in the session. Shares of the tech giant have more than doubled in 2023 and are among the S&P 500's best performers this year. It's a stark reversal from last year when Meta shares lost almost two-thirds of their value amid a tech stock 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:bear market.

Big Tech Faces a Flurry of Lawsuits

Tuesday's lawsuit against Meta Platforms is the latest in a series of suits filed by states, government agencies, and regulators like the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Federal Trade Commission (FTC)♈ against big tech companies—which have gained enormous influence and market clout in recent years.

Last month, proceedings began in a lawsuit that pits the U.S. Justice Department against Google (GOOGL), in what could become 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询𓂃:one of the biggest antitrust lawsuits in decades. Federal regulators allege the tech giant holds an illegal monopoly over the internet search market, and a DOJ victory could drastically curb Google's influence.

Also in September, the FTC and a coalition of 17 states 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:sued Amazon (AMZN) over what plainꦜtiffs allege are anti-competitive practices in the online retail market. If Amazon loses, the company could be forced to curtail some of those practices, which would give sellers on Amazon's platform more bargaining power.