North Carolina Sues Meta Over Violations of Trade Practices Act

COUNT XXXIX: VIOLATIONS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES ACT, N.C.G.S. § 75-1.1 (BY STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA)

1085. The State of North Carolina incorporates and re-alleges paragraphs 1 through 850 as if they were fully set forth herein.

1086. The North Carolina Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices Act prohibits “unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce.” N.C.G.S. § 75-1.1(a).

1087. Meta has committed unfair or deceptive acts or practices in violation of N.C.G.S. § 75-1.1(a) as described in this Complaint, including but not limited to:

a. Targeting its Social Media Platforms to young users, despite understanding the risks of psychological and physical harms, including compulsive and unhealthy use of or addiction to its Social Media Platforms.

b. Designing its Social Media Platforms to exploit young users’ psychological vulnerabilities with engagement-inducing features including but not limited to infinite scroll, ephemeral content display, autoplay, and disruptive audiovisual and vibration notifications, producing compulsive, prolonged, or unhealthy use by young users.

c. Failing to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. § 6501 et seq., as alleged in Count I, in violation of public policy.

d. Falsely, deceptively, or misleadingly representing, directly or indirectly, expressly or by implication, that:

i. Meta’s Social Media Platforms are not psychologically or physically harmful for young users, while Meta knew young users experienced such harms.

ii. Meta’s Social Media Platforms are not designed to induce young users’ compulsive, prolonged, or unhealthy use, when they are in fact so designed.

iii. The incidence of negative or harmful user experiences on Meta’s Social Media Platforms is low, while omitting Meta’s knowledge regarding the heightened extent users encountered such experiences.

iv. Meta prioritized young users’ health and safety, when in fact Meta subordinated young users’ health and safety to the goal of maximizing profits by prolonging time spent on its Social Media Platforms.

v. Users under 13 are excluded from Meta’s Social Media Platforms, when Meta knew that its policies and practices were insufficient to exclude such users.

1088. Meta’s above-described unfair or deceptive acts and practices have been in or affecting commerce in North Carolina.