Ohio’s attorney general is suing Meta Platforms Inc., formerly known as Facebook Inc., alleging the company misled the public about how it controlled its algorithm and the effects its products have on children.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Meta investors and the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, seeks more than $100 billion in damages and demands that Meta make significant changes so as to not mislead investors again, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement.
It argues that Facebook executives misled the public about the effects of its products on the health of young users and its efforts to protect the public.
“Facebook said it was looking out for our children and weeding out online trolls, but in reality was creating misery and divisiveness for profit,” Yost said in a statement. “We are not people to Mark Zuckerberg, we are the product and we are being used against each other out of greed.”
The lawsuit claims that the decline in Facebook stock since the first stories about Haugen’s documents were published in the Wall Street Journal caused the OPERS and other investors to lose more than $100 billion.
Yost is seeking to recover the lost value and require Meta to make reforms to ensure it does not mislead the public in the future.
A spokesperson for Meta called the lawsuit “without merit.”
