Instagram in Court

More than three dozen states are suing Meta, the company that owns Instagram and Facebook, alleging the tech giant uses features intended to hook young people on its apps and that the company has violated consumer protection and child safety laws.

The lawsuits represent the most significant attempt so far to hold the tech giant accountable for the impact of social media on the mental health of young people.

“For a long time, there have been essentially no constraints on what Facebook could do,” says Jeffrey Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy, a group that advocates for increased internet regulation. “This is a much-needed intervention.”

Here are five things you need to know to understand the lawsuits and their importance.

More than three dozen states are suing Meta, the company that owns Instagram and Facebook. They allege the tech giant uses features intended to hook young people on its apps. They also allege that the company has violated consumer protection and child safety laws.

The lawsuits represent the most significant attempt so far to hold the tech giant accountable for the impact of social media on the mental health of young people.

“For a long time, there have been essentially no constraints on what Facebook could do,” says Jeffrey Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy, a group that advocates for increased internet regulation. “This is a much-needed intervention.”

Here are five things you need to know to understand the lawsuits and their importance.

There are several lawsuits. California and Colorado are leading a federal lawsuit filed by 33 states. Eight other states and the District of Columbia filed separate lawsuits against Meta in state courts with most of the same claims.

According to the federal lawsuit, Meta’s algorithms are designed to push children and teens down rabbit holes of toxic and harmful content, with features like “infinite scroll” and persistent alerts used to hook young users. The lawsuit also accuses Meta of violating a federal children’s online privacy law by collecting kids’ personal data without their parents’ permission.

“Meta has harnessed powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens,” the states say in their 233-page lawsuit. “Its motive is profit.”

There are several lawsuits. California and Colorado are leading a federal lawsuit filed by 33 states. Eight other states and the District of Columbia filed separate lawsuits against Meta in state courts with most of the same claims.

According to the federal lawsuit, Meta’s algorithms are designed to push children and teens down rabbit holes of toxic and harmful content. Features like “infinite scroll” and persistent alerts are used to hook young users. The lawsuit also accuses Meta of violating a federal children’s online privacy law by collecting kids’ personal data without their parents’ permission.

“Meta has harnessed powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens,” the states say in their 233-page lawsuit. “Its motive is profit.”

More than 22 million teens in the U.S. use Instagram every day, according to the federal lawsuit. Concerns about the impact of social media on young people have been brewing for some time.

In 2021, a former Meta employee told Congress that the company had intentionally hidden disturbing research showing that teens feel worse about themselves after using Instagram. The whistleblower, Frances Haugen, who worked on Facebook’s civic misinformation team, also said the company used hateful content on its site to keep users coming back.

“The company’s leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer but won’t make the necessary changes,” Haugen said during her testimony to a Senate subcommittee.

Revelations like this prompted attorneys general in many states to launch their own investigations into Meta’s practices. The lawsuits filed in October—in both Democratic- and Republican-led states—are the culmination of those investigations.

More than 22 million teens in the U.S. use Instagram every day. This is according to the federal lawsuit. Concerns about the impact of social media on young people have been brewing for some time.

In 2021, a former Meta employee told Congress that the company had intentionally hidden disturbing research showing that teens feel worse about themselves after using Instagram. The whistleblower, Frances Haugen, worked on Facebook’s civic misinformation team. She also said the company used hateful content on its site to keep users coming back.

“The company’s leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer but won’t make the necessary changes,” Haugen said during her testimony to a Senate subcommittee.

Revelations like this prompted attorneys general in many states to launch their own investigations into Meta’s practices. The lawsuits filed in October are the culmination of those investigations.

Up to 95 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds use social media, and more than a third say they check it “almost constantly,” according to the Pew Research Center (see The Screen Grab).

At the same time, teens are experiencing a mental health crisis. From 2011 to 2021, the number of teens and young adults with clinical depression more than doubled. Nearly three in five teenage girls felt persistent sadness in 2021, according to research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The question for many researchers is the extent to which these two trends are linked. Experts agree that we need more investigation to assess the impact of social media, but early indicators are troubling.

Last spring, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a warning that “there is growing evidence that social media use is associated with harm to young people’s mental health.”

Psychology professor Jean Twenge of San Diego State University believes the rise of social media is responsible for the crisis in teen mental health.

“None of the other explanations fit the data,” she says.

Up to 95 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds use social media. More than a third say they check it “almost constantly,” according to the Pew Research Center (see The Screen Grab).

At the same time, teens are experiencing a mental health crisis. From 2011 to 2021, the number of teens and young adults with clinical depression more than doubled. Nearly three in five teenage girls felt persistent sadness in 2021, according to research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The question for many researchers is the extent to which these two trends are linked. Experts agree that we need more investigation to assess the impact of social media. But the early indicators are troubling.

Last spring, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a warning that “there is growing evidence that social media use is associated with harm to young people’s mental health.”

Psychology professor Jean Twenge of San Diego State University believes the rise of social media is responsible for the crisis in teen mental health.

“None of the other explanations fit the data,” she says.

Meta says it’s working to provide a safer environment for teens on its apps and has introduced more than 30 tools to support teens and families.

“We’re disappointed that instead of working productively with companies across the industry to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps teens use, the attorneys general have chosen this path,” the company said in a statement responding to the lawsuits.

In 2021, Meta paused plans to create a version of Instagram specifically geared toward younger kids after widespread objections to the idea.

Meta says it’s working to provide a safer environment for teens on its apps. It has introduced more than 30 tools to support teens and families.

“We’re disappointed that instead of working productively with companies across the industry to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps teens use, the attorneys general have chosen this path,” the company said in a statement responding to the lawsuits.

In 2021, Meta paused plans to create a version of Instagram specifically geared toward younger kids after widespread objections to the idea.

It’s unusual for so many states to come together to sue a tech giant for consumer harms. The coordination shows states are prioritizing the issue of children and online safety and combining legal resources to fight Meta, just as states had previously done for cases against Big Tobacco and pharmaceutical companies that were accused of causing the opioid crisis.

“Just like Big Tobacco and vaping companies have done in years past, Meta chose to maximize its profits at the expense of public health, specifically harming the health of the youngest among us,” says Phil Weiser, Colorado’s attorney general.

Lawmakers worldwide have been trying to rein in platforms like Instagram
and TikTok to protect kids. Over the past few years, the United Kingdom, followed by states such as California and Utah, passed laws requiring social media companies to boost privacy and safety protections for minors online. The Utah law, among other things, requires social media apps to turn off notifications by default for minors overnight to reduce interruptions to children’s sleep.

On the national level in the U.S., however, laws to protect the safety of children online have stalled in Congress as tech companies lobby against them.

“We’ve been warning about Meta’s manipulation and harming of young people from its start, and sadly it has taken years to hold it and other companies like Google accountable,” says Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy. “Hopefully justice will be served, but this is why it’s so crucial to have regulations.”

It’s unusual for so many states to come together to sue a tech giant for consumer harms. The coordination shows states are prioritizing the issue of children and online safety. They are combining legal resources to fight Meta. States have previously done this for cases against Big Tobacco and pharmaceutical companies that were accused of causing the opioid crisis.

“Just like Big Tobacco and vaping companies have done in years past, Meta chose to maximize its profits at the expense of public health, specifically harming the health of the youngest among us,” says Phil Weiser, Colorado’s attorney general.

Lawmakers worldwide have been trying to rein in platforms like Instagram and TikTok to protect kids. Over the past few years, the United Kingdom passed laws requiring social media companies to boost privacy and safety protections for minors online. California and Utah have passed similar laws. The Utah law, among other things, requires social media apps to turn off notifications by default for minors overnight to reduce interruptions to children’s sleep.

On the national level in the U.S., however, laws to protect the safety of children online have stalled in Congress. Tech companies lobby against them.

“We’ve been warning about Meta’s manipulation and harming of young people from its start, and sadly it has taken years to hold it and other companies like Google accountable,” says Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy. “Hopefully justice will be served, but this is why it’s so crucial to have regulations.”