New Hampshire and Vermont are among the states suing Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, for contributing to the teen mental health crisis.
New Hampshire’s complaint alleges: “Meta purposefully designed its popular platforms, Facebook and Instagram, to include addictive features with the goal of enticing and prolonging time children spend scrolling on the platforms. Such features include an algorithm intentionally designed to ensure maximum time spent on the platform, infinite scrolling, and ephemeral content. The complaint alleges that when children attempt to step away from using the platforms, Meta bombards them with regular alerts that are intentionally designed to lure them back. These and other features work together to exploit the developmental vulnerabilities of children and trap them into never-ending use that the social media giant knows harms their mental health and well-being.”
“Instagram’s harm to teens, and particularly girls and young women, is well-documented,” said Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark in a news release. “But Meta has denied and downplayed these harmful impacts for continued profits. Meta knowingly designed and developed Instagram features to exploit teens’ vulnerabilities to maximize revenue. This is reprehensible and a violation of Vermont’s Consumer Protection Act. This lawsuit aims to hold Meta accountable.”
The states announced various suits yesterday. NH, VT and six others are filing cases in their respective state courts while more 30 states are involved in federal litigation. – today’s Journal-Opinion
How to Field Dress a Deer – Vermont is one of the most rural states in the country, and Vermonters have a proud heritage of living close to the land. Hunting is highly regulated and provides a way to connect with the land, connect with nature and connect with a healthy, sustainable food source that is rooted in Vermont.
Making the most of the meals provided by deer taken in hunting seasons starts with processing them quickly and correctly which is why the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department has three online videos demonstrating how to process deer. Finding the videos is easy on the Fish and Wildlife website (www.vtfishandwildlife.com). Click on “Hunt” and then “From Field to Freezer.”
The educational videos are titled Field Dressing, Skinning a Deer and Butchering a Deer.
September revenues up – the State’s General Fund, Transportation Fund, and Education Fund receipts for September were a combined $301 million, exceeding the $292.3 million monthly consensus target by $8.7 million, or 3.0%.
General Fund revenues for September totaled $216 million, $15.5 million, or 7.7%, above the consensus cash flow target. The Transportation Fund missed its $28 million September consensus target by -$4.1 million, or -14.7%, yielding only $23.9 million with none of the individual revenue categories achieving their respective consensus monthly targets. Monthly Education Fund revenues of $61.1 million were -$2.6 million, -4.1%, below their September cash flow target.
According to Secretary Kristin Clouser: “Vermont’s first quarter revenue results reflect the variability in our economy. Considering the volatile international scene, an aggressive Federal Reserve and yet another potential federal shutdown, we are relieved to be in a relatively good position heading into the second quarter, but we remain focused on containing costs due to the highly unstable macroeconomic situation.”
UVM/Global Foundries a ‘tech hub’ – A consortium led by the University of Vermont and including GlobalFoundries and the state of Vermont has been designated as one of 31 Tech Hubs by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA), unlocking up to $75M in federal grant funding to further research in semiconductor technology. Advancing Gallium Nitride (GaN) Technology in the Greater Burlington Area was selected by the Tech Hubs program from nearly 400 applications.
Categories: SHORTS
On the subject of suing Meta and or other online platforms. I am nor will I ever be a member/product to these platforms. Reason is simple. I actually READ the TOS. Did you? All online platforms of this kind all have TOS that says no children, need permission and so on. Oh and that you are the product and they will take all the info you give them and sell it to the highest bidder. The suit will probably go nowhere.
At what point do we have people take responsibility for their and their children’s behavior.
I have no children, but be sure as a life long computer tech I would NEVER HAVE ALLOWED MY CHILDREN ON THE INTERNET.
Those same sites are full of predator’s enticements for whatever deviant behavior they can get you to preform or spend yourself into oblivion. They (Meta and so on) are absolved from any form of backlash because ultimately, it is PARENTS who are responsible, not them. It is very rare if not impossible for children to buy $500-$2000 worth of computer equipment on their own, or own a credit card or even have a bank account with a debit card or sign a legally binding contract. They cannot even do that with game consoles. Same with cell phones, which they really do not need.
Funny, my wife tells a story of how she as a young mother taught her kids about drugs and the dangers of them. This was around the time of D.A.R.E. . Because teaching your children how to be safe is always a good thing, right?
Her children went to a D.A.R.E. assembly and were the only ones who KNEW how bad drugs were, what they were and so on. They were questioned, grilled and eventually my wife was called repeatedly with accusatory tones asking how do your kids know so much.
Her reply is still golden.
“Because you told me I should teach my kids how to be safe from drugs”
So when a parent is proactive with their children’s education, it is met with suspicion, not praise.
Back to META,
At what point is personal accountability to be applied. I do not use META. I am not a product. Yes that includes You Tube and I do not go onto “social media”. I use a phone, I write letters, I go and visit.
You want mentally healthy kids. Real simple. Actually raise your kids. Not daycare, not school, not even church, YOU. That IS why you had kids, right ? To RAISE them.
Children feel lost because of the lack of connection to anything. They have no clue about the dangers of the big capitalism /propaganda machines our schools are.
They do not want face time they want playtime, with friends. They want to learn how to do… anything. But to just decide the big new SUV is more important than spending time with them, teaching them to read. Well, we all have priorities. Your kids just aren’t one of them. Scores are down but how many of them are wizs on the platforms today.
I play videogames and I stopped with multiplayer for a few reasons, one was the children who talk smack and swear constantly. The other is a true lack of content.
Just like on any of the META services as well as Facebook and their ilk. People need to connect with each other locally, then when they are more mature allow them access to those things a little at a time. If at all.
I see the Faustian draw of those things on the internet and to be sure, shying away from them is the best course. Children will not/ do not have the capacity to discern real from fake and can and do get drawn into the lies and garbage all over the internet. Can you remember the Tide Pod challenge?
Bad parenting leads to things like what happened during the Beavis and Butthead years. Or better yet they end up on Jerry Springer or some such show.
It is all on parents, not on the corporations, who warn that no kids allowed or not without parents permission. Any parent that does not look into a site their kid wants to go on then they are negligent, that simple, not the site.
So if your kid plays with a hammer and smashed its hand is the state going to sue Stanley for not having a label or letting just any kid get one? I think they might, because parents are so whiny now, but they should not.
How about you actually spend time with them. Play board games, cards, ball, anything that shows a kid how loved they are and how you care. Then your kid will talk to you, will interact with you and this thought of doing themselves in just does not come up.
OH and stop putting them on drugs too.
Heaven forbid that teachers, and parents bear any responsibility for the educational short comings, and mental health of their children. Let’s blame the “gun”. Besides there is money to be had in law suits .
I have a relative called me very upset. Apparently, her young teen daughter was scared b/c a grown man she had been chatting with via the internet had informed her he knew where she lived and he would be showing up to have sex with her. Whether she liked to or not.
I had begged this relative to stop her kid from sitting up all night talking with God knows who. Oh no, I was told, she is not in any danger, she said. And then she was threatened.
My relative took the teen to the local police department to make a report. She was told they could not/would not do anything. It seems the female officer felt no sympathy for the young teen dressed in spike heels, very tight teeny tiny skirt, very low cut top AND garish make up.
Now I’m not saying that this is the perfect example of what happens. BUT it could. In the night; in the dark; where no one can see or hear this.
Charity Clark is a prime example of the harm Meta just look at her…she’s a libtard
Does suing Meta mean the States have to return the money for the ballot drop boxes? Gee, all the Zuck Bucks, paid rhetoric shills, and censoring of Truth on their platform to help them get elected! Ingrates. How dare they?!
she and her dept could spend more time on local crimes, shoplifting, theft, auto violations but NO we have to campaign on big bad brother. do your job for the state and local not national. an yes why cant we hold parents and schools boards accountable?