Meta, Snap Sued by Mother of US Teenager for His Suicide

Facebook-parent Meta and Snapchat-developer Snap has been accused to be responsible for teenage users’ addition to the platforms.

By Joel Rosenblatt, Bloomberg | Updated: 12 April 2022 14:57 IST

Meta, Snap Sued by Mother of US Teenager for His Suicide

Photo Credit: Bloomberg

The lawsuit alleges that Meta deliberately designed algorithms that keep teens hooked

Highlights

Christopher James Dawley, an honours student, died by suicide in 2014
He was deeply drawn into social media and obsessed with body image
The firms are accused of not warning parents and users of their products

Meta Platforms and Snap were sued over a teenager's suicide in the latest effort by an advocacy group to hold the social media giants responsible for addiction to their platforms.
Christopher James Dawley, who went by CJ, was a college-bound honours student who played sports and enjoyed outdoor activities, but he got so deeply drawn into social media and obsessed with body image that he was frequently communicating on Instagram at 3 am, according to the complaint filed Monday by his mother in federal court.

In January 2014, while CJ's family was cleaning Christmas decorations and about a month before his 17th birthday, he posted “Who turned out the light?” on his Facebook page, held a 22-caliber rifle in one hand, his smart phone in the other, and shot himself to death, according to the complaint.

Like previous cases filed by Seattle-based Social Media Victims Law Center, the suit alleges that Meta deliberately designed algorithms that keep teens hooked onto their platforms to promote excessive use that they know is indicative of addictive and self-destructive use.

TikTok Ad Revenue to Cross $11 Billion in 2022: Report

“Neither Meta or Snap warned users or their parents of the addictive and mentally harmful effects that the use of their products was known to cause amongst minor users,” Donna Dawley's said in her complaint.

Meta and Snap representatives didn't immediately respond to email messages after regular business hours seeking comment.

The case is Dawley v. Meta Platforms Inc., 22-cv-00444, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Meta Sued in Australia Over Scam Cryptocurrency Advertisements

Gaana CEO and Spotify's India chief join us on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, to discuss India's unique music streaming landscape. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Helplines
Vandrevala Foundation for Mental Health	9999666555 or help@vandrevalafoundation.com
TISS iCall	022-25521111 (Monday-Saturday: 8 am to 10 pm)
(If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist.)

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.