Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced [on Tuesday] the commonwealth is joining 32 other states in a federal lawsuit against Meta over allegations its social media platforms are purposely harmful to children.
The lawsuit alleges that Meta knew about the extent of the psychological and health harms suffered by young users addicted to its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, but falsely assured the public they are safe and suitable for children and teens.
It also claims Meta’s business model exploits and monetizes young users through data harvesting and targeted ads by designing purposely-addictive platform features.
The suit alleges features such as auto-play, algorithms and near-constant alerts were knowingly created with the express goal of hooking children and teens into descending “rabbit holes.” In turn, the suit claims young users can be exposed to harmful content such as suicide and self-harm content, hate speech and misinformation.
The suit claims Meta also has a “deep understanding” of the significant and extensive harms to young people associated with addiction and compulsive use of the platforms, including depression, eating disorders, physical self-harm and suicidal ideation.
Miyares compared Meta to big tobacco companies advertising to children, pointing to the Joe Camel cartoon as a way to hook young people on cigarettes.
“At the expense of public health and specifically the health of our youth, they’ve exploited the vulnerability of our young children and the fundamental desire for connection for their own personal gain,” Miyares said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Additionally, the suit alleges Meta is well aware that kids under the age of 13 are on their platform, but still collects data from these children without first obtaining verifiable parental consent as required by the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
Miyares said that Meta could obtain parental consent using age verification technologies, like uploading a drivers license or official government identification. When asked about the potential for data breaches seen in states requiring third-party age verification methods to access pornographic websites, Miyares reiterated the technology is a great first step to protecting children.
“Let’s try to protect our kids, let’s try to protect their innocence and let’s make sure parents are involved and parents matter,” Miyares said.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin has previously expressed similar concerns that parents need to be more involved in efforts to mitigate the impact of social media on children and teenagers.
Youngkin proposed an amendment to Virginia’s pornographic website age verification law that would have extended the age of children who require parental consent for social media accounts from under 13 to under 18. The Senate narrowly rejected the proposal.
At a “Parents Matter” town hall this August, Youngkin heavily emphasized the importance of parents’ involvement in their child’s social media life.
Miyares said he hopes Meta complies with consumer protection laws and prioritizes the safety of children moving forward, and if not, he isn’t afraid of the fight.
“We would welcome the opportunity to have a meaningful discussion about how they could change their platforms to better protect our children and our teens,” Miyares said. “You chose to fight us, we’ll see you in court.”
Image via Brett Jordan/Unsplash. This article was reported and written by the Virginia Mercury, and has been reprinted with permission.
The Office of the Virginia Attorney General is opposing a private toll road owner’s request for a rate increase.
In July, Toll Road Investors Partnership II, the owner and operator of the 14-mile Dulles Greenway that runs between Leesburg and Washington Dulles International Airport, filed a request with the State Corporation Commission to increase tolls by at least 21%.
[On Sept. 29], Attorney General Jason Miyares said he objected to the request. [link added]
“Traffic in Northern Virginia is a daily challenge, and rising inflation only adds to the costs of commuting to work,” said Miyares in a statement. “My office stands alongside Virginia commuters who feel this struggle daily, advocating for fairness and resisting toll increases. Virginians deserve every hard-earned penny, and we’re here to protect Virginians from unreasonable financial burdens.”
TRIP II bases its pricing on the number of axles a driver’s vehicle has, with tolls for two-axle vehicles traveling from one end of the road to the other costing $5.25 during regular hours and $5.80 during rush hour. The proposed new rates for two-axle vehicles would be $6.40 during regular hours and $8.10 during rush hour.
The operator’s last rate increase request was denied in 2021. [FFXnow note: The Dulles Greenway operator’s latest request comes on the heels of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority increasing fees on the Dulles Toll Road for the first time in five years, starting this past Jan. 1.]
TRIP II said in its application that the increase will help it meet its financial obligations: “Only with the approval of the proposed tolls along with additional future increases will TRIP II be able to reach a place where it would have an opportunity to provide a reasonable return to its investors.”
Victoria LaCivita, a spokeswoman for Miyares, did not directly respond to whether the attorney general has any interest in lawmakers directing the state to enter into discussions with the toll operator to change how the roadway is managed.
However, she added, “Consumer protection is an important function of the Attorney General’s office. Northern Virginia residents and commuters have voiced strong opinions against the toll increase, and the Attorney General plans to represent that view in front of the State Corporation Commission.”
The proposed increases
TRIP II made the toll rate increase request after the failure this winter of legislation backed by the operator and Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration that would have let the state Commissioner of Highways, Secretary of Transportation and a steering committee negotiate new rates for the toll road. The proposal also included plans to reduce toll costs and implement distance-based tolling, which would charge drivers based on how far they travel.
Currently TRIP II is regulated by the State Corporation Commission under the Virginia Highway Corporation Act. That law allows the company to ask the SCC for a toll increase once per year but doesn’t permit it to negotiate those increases.
“TRIP II looks forward to continuing to work with the commonwealth to find a solution to how the Greenway is regulated to implement distance-based tolling,” said Renee Hamilton, chief executive officer for TRIP II, in a statement. “Drivers on other private toll roads in Northern Virginia pay based on the length of their trip. Drivers on the Greenway should be treated the same way. Filing a rate case application with the SCC was not our first choice.” Read More
The unexpectedly long-running saga of Fairfax County Public Schools’ delayed National Merit Scholarship commendation notices has added a new page.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares has petitioned the Fairfax County Circuit Court to require FCPS to turn over the full report it commissioned from an outside law firm in January, killing any hopes school officials had that releasing a summary of the review’s findings would resolve the state investigation.
Filing an objection in court yesterday (Monday), FCPS says the report by Sands Anderson is confidential, and the attorney general’s subpoena request — which also seeks witness interview notes and transcripts — would violate its attorney-client privileges.
“Various FCPS teachers and staff were interviewed as part of this independent investigation. We owe it to them to do everything we can to protect their privacy and personal security,” FCPS Superintendent Michelle Reid said in a statement. “As the Attorney General knows, multiple FCPS staff members have been harassed and threatened over this issue.”
Miyares launched an investigation into FCPS in January after Coalition for TJ co-founder Asra Nomani published a story alleging that Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology officials had deliberately delayed notifying students “commended” by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC).
Nomani claimed the notices were withheld in a “war on merit,” preventing students from citing the honor in early college applications. Experts say the preliminary SAT scores used by the NMSC aren’t heavily considered in admissions decisions.
Initially focusing on TJ before expanding the investigation to all of FCPS, Miyares said the delayed notices could constitute discrimination violating the Virginia Human Rights Act, referencing the lawsuit over changes to TJ’s admissions policy.
Hired to conduct a review for FCPS in response, Sands Anderson found communication gaps, staff absences and other logistical errors, but there was no evidence that schools intentionally withheld the “commended” notices from students, FCPS reported in March.
In a statement, Miyares’s office called FCPS’ objection to sharing the full report evidence that the school system “believes it is immune from Virginia’s anti-discrimination laws.”
“FCPS now confirms it will only comply with the law when politically convenient,” Miyares spokeswoman Victoria LaCivita said. “No school system is above the law. If the report shows no wrongdoing, then FCPS should release it. Attorney General Miyares’s investigation into this matter will continue.”
Noting that it has standardized how schools notify students about NMSC recognitions, FCPS says sharing the requested materials would violate the privacy and, potentially, the safety of teachers and administrators interviewed by Sands Anderson.
The school system didn’t detail specific incidents but said it has alerted the attorney general “to this concern and…the severity of the threats.”
“Turning over these privileged materials to the Attorney General would set a troubling precedent and could undermine the willingness of others to cooperate with similar inquiries in the future,” Reid said.
LaCivita said that Miyares “values the safety of Virginians above all else, and expects that FCPS reported any credible threats to the proper authorities.”
In a court filing, attorneys representing FCPS also argue that Miyares hasn’t shown “good cause” for why a subpoena is needed, per Virginia law:
In particular, the Attorney General has not shown why it cannot conduct a full investigation with the facts already within its possession, or why it must have access to a law firm’s privileged report of the firm’s separate analysis of the same information. Nor has the Attorney General explained why it waited months after learning of the Sands Anderson report to subpoena this information.
“As we have already shared thousands of documents related to this issue, the Attorney General’s office has all the facts it needs to complete its investigation,” Reid said.
The attorney general has been engaged in a similar court battle with Loudoun County Public Schools, which was recently ordered to share a report with prosecutors on its handling of two sexual assaults.
An independent investigation found no basis to claims that notices of National Merit Scholarship commendations were intentionally withheld from students, Fairfax County Public Schools announced last night (Wednesday).
Conducted by the law firm Sands Anderson, the review confirmed that eight schools didn’t notify students designated as “commended” by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) until after Nov. 1, 2022, but it “found no evidence that this was intentional or reflected any policy decision by FCPS” or any of the individual schools, according to FCPS.
“There was no evidence to suggest that FCPS deliberately withheld notification of Commended Student status from any student,” Superintendent Michelle Reid said in a message to families. “In addition, they found no evidence of any inequity or racial bias in the actions taken by these schools regarding notifications or distribution of these certificates.”
Criticism of the school system’s handling of the recognitions emerged in late December, ignited by a City Journal article that suggested Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) intentionally waited until after early college applications were due to notify commended students.
Written by Coalition for TJ co-founder Asra Nomani, the story argued that the delayed notices were part of a “war on merit.” The coalition has a pending lawsuit against FCPS over revisions to the magnet school’s admissions policies, which it says were designed to disadvantage the Asian students who make up a majority of TJ’s student body.
The story picked up steam when Gov. Glenn Youngkin called for an investigation into TJ on Jan. 3. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares complied, launching a review the following day that later expanded to all of FCPS after Westfield and Langley high schools informed families that they had failed to notify commended students.
Other schools where students experienced delays include Annandale, Thomas Edison, John R. Lewis, Marshall and West Potomac high schools, according to Sands Anderson’s review.
“It’s encouraging that FCPS is working to be more transparent about the inconsistencies surrounding their National Merit award decisions and process,” Miyares spokesperson Victoria LaCivita said. “The Office of the Attorney General will continue its investigation.”
Initially attributing the delays to human error, FCPS conducted an internal review and hired Sands Anderson for a third-party investigation in January.
According to the new report, factors contributing to the delays varied by school. Issues ranged from a clerical oversight and communication gaps due to absent or changing staff to the scheduling of fall awards ceremonies where the certificates get distributed. Read More
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares will be in Annandale today for a town hall that may address his ongoing civil rights investigation of Fairfax County Public Schools.
At the town hall, Miyares will “hear from members of northern Virginia’s Asian American community regarding allegations of anti-Asian discrimination in education,” the Office of the Attorney General said in a media advisory.
The event will take place at the Korean Community Center (6601 Little River Turnpike, Suite 200), starting at 6:30 p.m.
While the OAG didn’t share more details about the referenced allegations, the description of the town hall suggests it may be connected to the office’s scrutiny of FCPS for delays in notifying students who were commended by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) last fall.
At the urging of Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Miyares launched an investigation of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) on Jan. 4, alleging that the school had deliberately withheld the notifications until after early admissions deadlines for colleges to punish “some students…in the name of ‘equity.'”
After a review by FCPS found that more schools had failed to notify students, the attorney general expanded the investigation to the entire division, which has maintained that the delays were an oversight, rather than an intentional withholding of information.
“The School Board echoes and supports Superintendent [Michelle] Reid’s comments that FCPS understands and values every student’s hard work, achievements, and dedication,” the Fairfax County School Board said in a statement on Jan. 20, detailing Reid’s efforts to review FCPS’ protocols and request that the NMSC start notifying recognized students directly.
The National Merit Scholarship Program gives scholarships to the country’s top scorers on the preliminary SATs, though college admissions experts say a commendation doesn’t factor into their evaluations of student applications.
When announcing his initial investigation, Miyares tied his allegations of racism to the recent revisions of TJ’s admissions policies, which he argued “significantly decreased the amount of Asian American students enrolled in recent years.”
Since the new policies were approved in 2020 in an effort to diversify the magnet school, Asian students have gotten about 54% of the admission offers each year compared to 73% the year prior to the changes. As of the 2021-2022 school year, the student body was about two-thirds (66.6%) Asian.
A lawsuit challenging the admissions changes as discriminatory toward Asian students is pending in a federal appeals court.
(Updated at 10:40 a.m.) The Virginia Attorney General’s office has launched an investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools, alleging that delays in notifying students of commendations for their preliminary SAT test scores may constitute civil rights violations.
Attorney General Jason Miyares announced yesterday that the entire school system will be subject to a review that began last week with a focus on Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ).
The expansion comes after principals at Westfield and Langley high schools reportedly informed families over the weekend that they also didn’t notify students designated as “commended students” by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) this fall.
“It’s concerning that multiple schools throughout Fairfax County withheld merit awards from students,” Miyares said in a press release. “My office will investigate the entire Fairfax County Public Schools system to find out if any students were discriminated against and if their rights were violated.”
In a letter to FCPS Superintendent Michelle Reid, Miyares said his office is investigating whether the school system violated the Virginia Human Rights Act’s prohibitions of discrimination based on race, color and national origin.
Reid said she “proactively” alerted the attorney general’s office to the lack of “timely notification” for Westfield and Langley students after it was found by an independent review that the school system initiated last week, according to a message sent to the community yesterday.
“As soon as this new development was confirmed, Westfield and Langley high schools notified all impacted families and their broader respective school communities,” Reid wrote. “Please be aware that FCPS is committed to sharing information that impacts our communities as soon as possible.”
Reid said school staff have been contacting colleges where the affected students applied.
“We are sincerely sorry for this error. Each and every student, their experience and success, remain our priority,” she said.
Initially, the delay at TJ appeared to be “a unique situation due to human error,” Reid said on Wednesday (Jan. 4).
She said then that the attorney general’s investigation will include “a review” of TJ’s admissions policies, which were revised in 2020 in an effort to diversify the magnet school’s student body. A lawsuit arguing that the changes discriminate against Asian students is currently in a federal appeals court.
Notably, the delayed notifications for commended students at TJ were first reported by Asra Nomani, co-founder of the Coalition for TJ, which filed the lawsuit opposing the admissions changes.
The National Merit Scholarship Program recognizes the top 50,000 scorers on the pSAT, a practice standardized test often considered by colleges. Though only a handful of actual scholarships are awarded each year, about 34,000 students get letters of commendations that go out in late September, per the website.
FCPS announced in mid-September that 238 of its students had advanced to the semi-finals. It didn’t mention how many students were commended.
In letters to the Washington Post, local public education advocate Holly Hazard and a former university admissions director argued that Miyares and Gov. Glenn Youngkin — both Republicans — have “wildly overreacted” to the delayed notices, a sentiment echoed by a couple Democratic elected officials.
Amen 👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 https://t.co/0anrFR1Gev
— Senator Scott Surovell (@ssurovell) January 5, 2023
“There is nothing to investigate,” state Sen. Scott Surovell (D-36) told FFXnow, noting that information about pSAT scores is available online through the College Board website.
“Fairfax County has the best public schools in Virginia and the Governor and Attorney General are trying to bring their culture war to Fairfax because they’re not willing to invest in public schools or treat our teachers like licensed professionals,” he said in an emailed statement.
The investigation precedes a General Assembly session convening Wednesday (Jan. 11) that will see consideration of a voucher program allowing public funds to be used for private school expenses, among other education-related proposals.
It also kicks off a year where all 12 seats on the Fairfax County School Board — currently held entirely by Democrats — will be up for election.
The parents of 25-year-old Bijan Ghaisar, the McLean resident killed by U.S. Park Police in 2017, and Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano have voiced their dismay over Virginia’s decision to drop a criminal case against the officers.
At the behest of Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, the Commonwealth filed a motion on Friday (April 22) to drop the manslaughter charges against the officers. A federal appeals court officially dismissed the case yesterday (Monday).
“I remain saddened and dumbfounded,” Descano said yesterday (Monday) in a statement. “Not only did they lose their beloved son, but time and again, actors in the criminal justice system treated them with appalling coldness and brutality.”
Three former U.S. attorneys general — William Barr, Edwin Meese and Michael Mukasey, all Republicans — weighed in on the criminal case with an amicus brief a day before the Commonwealth’s motion.
Former Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat, had filed an appeal of the criminal case in January to the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond. He lost his bid for reelection in November.
Descano, also a Democrat, sought to bring criminal charges against the Park Police officers, identified as Alejandro Amaya and Lucas Vinyard. A grand jury indicted the men in October 2020 on charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm.
But a year later, U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton ruled in favor of the Park Police officers, dismissing the case.
Descano said he’ll now turn his attention to advocating for the Department of Justice to prosecute the case. The DOJ previously declined to pursue charges against the officers in 2019, but the department indicated last summer that it would be open to assisting in a prosecution.
If federal prosecutors pass on the case again, it would allow for the resumption of a civil lawsuit that James and Kelara Ghaisar, Bijan’s parents, filed against the U.S. government. The lawsuit has been on hold since October 2020.
Efforts by the family, community members, and elected officials to hold the Park Police officers accountable for Bijan Ghaisar’s death have now dragged on for more than four years after he was shot at the intersection of Fort Hunt Road and Alexandria Avenue.
U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine said in a joint statement yesterday (Monday) that their “hearts go out to Bijan Ghaisar’s loved ones, who have spent more than four years searching for closure following the fatal shooting of Bijan by two U.S. Park Police officers. We are deeply disappointed by this decision by Attorney General Miyares to end Virginia’s pursuit of justice for Bijan and his family. This decision only stands to cause further harm to the Fairfax County community while preventing a heartbroken family from reaching the closure they desperately need.”
At a federal court hearing in October 2020, an attorney for the family argued that they had been waiting for years and a case shouldn’t be paused indefinitely.
“Almost three years ago Bijan Ghaisar was gunned down by two Park Police officers,” attorney Tom Connolly said at the October 2020 hearing. “His family has waited now three years to get some semblance of justice in this case.”
Hilton agreed and set a status conference for the civil case for March 26, 2021. But three days before that date, the court said the meeting was put on hold with a rescheduling “to be determined.”
The wrongful death and civil rights lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria, seeks $25 million and other damages and costs, alleging negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and other charges.
