Even though we take great pride in our diversity as individuals, what we forget to realize is that this very diversity also seeps into our interests. Such a piece of reality makes for a scenario where we are always trying to put our wants and needs over everyone else’s. The worst part about it, however, is the fact that at times, for achieving the said purpose; we also end up taking some really unethical routes. Hence, as a way to keep these undertakings from damaging the interests of the masses, we have established a refined set of regulations throughout the spectrum. The regulations we are talking about here are purposed according to the need of a particular sphere. Furthermore, they are consistently enforced by a specialized regulatory body, which holds all the power to penalize any inconsistencies. Nevertheless, even a stringent setup of this sort hasn’t proven to be entirely effective. With companies getting smarter on the back of technological ideologies, the enforcement of such regulations has turned more and more challenging every day, prompting the regulators to adopt a more aggressive approach. Now, while the results of a reworked playbook are yet to be felt on a more holistic scale, it has enabled the watchdogs to look beyond technology’s utopian reality. What they saw, in turn, directly produced a severe level of scrutiny around many big companies, but one organization that has lately received more supervision than any of the others is Facebook, and it’s shockingly in the trenches once again.
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is up against a fresh lawsuit for violating federal securities laws. The lawsuit was filed by Ohio Attorney General, Dave Yost, on the behalf of Ohio public pension fund and other investors who claimed that the company had misled them by providing false information about its products’ safety. This, of course, pertains to the accusations against Facebook that it was aware of Instagram’s detrimental impact on adolescents, especially teenage girls. In response to the initial reports, Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg had flat out deemed the allegations as misinterpretation of an internal study, which has been the centerpiece of this entire controversy. However, the latest lawsuit brings the integrity of that response in question. Furthermore, Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS), as a part of this case, has gone on the record to reveal it has lost more than $100 billion due to Facebook’s stock sinking since whistleblower, Frances Haugen exposed the company with its own internal studies.
Attorney General, Dave Yost is looking to recover those losses, while also ensuring that Meta changes its tactics for the future. It’s not the first time Yost has come up against the company though. He along with other 43 Attorney General also forced Facebook to stop the rollout of an ‘Instagram for Kids’ platform.