A cartoon camel with a smoking cigarette in the corner of its mouth became a well-known mascot in advertising for a cigarette brand during the 1970s, 80s and 90s.
A seemingly harmless advertisement, which would later be accused of luring children and young people into a health-threatening tobacco addiction.
Now the tech company Meta's methods are being compared with those of the tobacco industry.
Meta was recently fined billions by a court in the state of New Mexico, USA, after the state sued the company in 2023 for harming children and contributing to what has been called a "crisis of mental health among youth".
The company has also previously been found liable for failing to protect children from the company's addictive apps.
New legal process
This week, a new legal process is starting based on lawsuits from four states - California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey, AFP reports.
The company is being sued for deliberately designing the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram in a way that makes children and young people addicted to them.
Vincent Joralemon, director of the Life Sciences Law and Policy Center in Berkeley, compares the legal process to that against the tobacco industry.
Just as the four largest tobacco companies were held liable for negative health effects decades ago, the legal process against Meta focuses on the company's business practices, which are accused of hiding risks and harmful effects for users, Joralemon points out to the AFP news agency.
As then, the starting point was lawsuits from several states that in 1998 won a historic victory that included hefty fines for tobacco companies and enforced changes in how the products were marketed.
Rumored big damage
The problems the legal proceedings are creating for Meta now are hardly about money, according to Joralemon.
"The big issue is about damaged reputation and the pressure to implement crucial changes," he told AFP.
The new trial against Meta begins with jury selection on Wednesday in Oakland and is expected to begin on August 18.
Meta has consistently denied the allegations and defended itself by saying that it is confident that it is protecting children and young people online.
"We will continue to defend ourselves against accusations that are not based on facts," the company previously told AFP.
Facts: Several tech companies on trial
In October 2023, a coalition of states in the US, including New Mexico, sued tech giant Meta, alleging that the company deliberately designed features on its platforms that make children and young people addicted.
In March of this year, Meta was ordered to pay the equivalent of $375 million (3.5 billion SEK) in damages to New Mexico for, according to the verdict, having exposed children in the state to risk.
In a new ruling, Meta was recently fined billions for contributing to a “mental health crisis” among young people in New Mexico.
In addition to damages, Meta has been required to implement a number of changes to its apps.
An appeals court has now also allowed over 3,000 lawsuits against, among others, Meta, TikTok (Bytedance), Snapchat and Google to proceed.
Sources: AFP, Reuters and TT.
