Meta blocks ads for lawsuits against itself: company removes ads about social media addiction
Meta began removing ads from Facebook and Instagram, which was used by lawyers to seek new plaintiffs in cases of harm caused by social media addiction.
Meta began removing ads from Facebook and Instagram, which was used by lawyers to seek new plaintiffs in cases of harm caused by social media addiction.
Meta confirmed to Reuters that it is removing ads aimed at finding people for ongoing lawsuits against it and other social networks. These are mass lawsuits in which the companies are accused of designing their services in such a way that they cause addiction among young users and harm their mental health. Meta spokesman Andy Stone said that the company is actively defending itself in these cases. The company explains this decision by saying that it does not want to allow lawyers to make money on its own platforms while simultaneously accusing them of harming children and adolescents.
The decision comes after two major court defeats for Meta. In late March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google liable for the depression and suicidal thoughts of a young girl who said she had been addicted to Instagram and YouTube since she was young, awarding a total of $6 million in damages. And in a separate case in New Mexico, a jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million, finding that the company misled users about the safety of its products for young people and allowed the sexual exploitation of children on its platforms.
The scale of the lawsuits themselves is already vast. More than 3,300 lawsuits are pending in California state courts against Meta, Google, Snap and ByteDance. About 2,400 more lawsuits from individuals, cities, states and school districts are being consolidated in California federal court. The cases allege that social media has harmed the mental health of young people and forced government agencies to spend extra money to combat the consequences. The companies deny the allegations.
Advertising for such lawsuits has become more prominent since the March verdicts. According to X Ante, 671 television ads related to social media claims ran nationwide in March, the most in a single month since July 2024. Radio ads nearly tripled to 20,000. Law firms often work on a win-or-lose model, so it’s critical to attract as many plaintiffs as possible.
Interestingly, the ads for these lawsuits are still appearing on Google platforms. Reuters reports that one of the leading law firms in this wave of cases, Social Media Victims Law Center, is running ads through Google services, but the company has not yet said whether it will also remove such ads.
Previously, dev.ua wrote about how Meta is testing an Instagram subscription service that offers a number of new features, including the ability to view stories without your crush or ex knowing.
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