Meta staff reportedly wore 'attorney/client privilege' hats amid child safety lawsuits
Lawyers suing Meta say the company has invoked attorney-client privilege too broadly to withhold evidence in litigation over alleged harm to teens' mental health.
Meta's legal team has argued in ongoing litigation that certain internal evidence should be withheld from public view under attorney-client privilege, a claim now being challenged by lawyers representing plaintiffs in lawsuits over alleged harm to teenagers' safety and mental health.
Attorneys suing the company said this week that Meta has applied the privilege label far too broadly, pointing to a recently unsealed document as an example of the practice.
A pointed internal detail
Among the details raised by plaintiffs' lawyers is a claim that Meta employees were, at one point, given hats referencing "attorney/client privilege," which critics have cited as emblematic of a broader effort within the company to shield internal communications from scrutiny during the litigation.
The lawsuits are part of a wider wave of legal action against major social media companies over claims that their platforms, including Instagram, contributed to mental health harms among younger users.
Meta has not issued a detailed public response to the latest claims regarding the scope of its privilege assertions as of the time of reporting.
Sources
- Meta employees ordered ‘attorney/client privilege’ hats while fighting child safety disclosures — The Verge
EGazette summarizes reporting from multiple sources; follow the links for the originals.
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