Meta Sued -Exploiting Young People; Amazon Launching Drone Delivery; Google Will Let Ad Rivals on YouTube; Galaxy Z Flip 4-Less Crease

Meta has been served with eight lawsuits in several states, making the claim that Facebook and Instagram are ‘detrimental to young people’s mental health.’ According to mashable.com, the law firm behind the suits is Beasley Allen. In a statement, the firm continues that Meta ‘purposefully made its platforms psychologically addictive and failed to protect its users.’ They cite the Congressional testimony by Facebook whistleblower Francis Haugen. The lawsuits state that prolonged platform use has led to mental health issues like anxiety, depression, and eating disorders, as well as self-harm and attempted suicide. There was no immediate response from Meta. 

Amazon is prepping to launch a fleet of delivery drones in a test of Amazon Prime Air Delivery in Lockeford, California. Lockeford is south of Sacramento. Cnet.com reports that Amazon has worked with the FAA and local officials to get permissions to run the drone tests. the drones have a sense-and-avoid system they use to operate safely. The plan is for the drones to drop down into a customer’s back yard and drop the package from a safe height, before returning to their base. 

Google is offering to let rivals and intermediaries run ads on YouTube in response to an EU antitrust investigation. Reuters.com says the European Commission opened a probe last year to look into whether the worlds’s largest provider of search and video was giving itself an unfair advantage by restricting rivals’ and advertisers’ access to user data. Google is angling to settle with the EU, but while a good step, it looks like they will have to do more to get some kind of settlement. A similar British agency is also investigating Google’s ad practices. 

A good rumor about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4…while it looks pretty identical outside, the display crease on the inner screen is much smaller and less noticeable. 9to5google.com reports that it is expected to have a newer Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, as well as a bigger 3700 mAh battery. The present 3300 mAh battery has been underwhelming. The handset should still come in at around $999 when it rolls out in August.