US States’ lawsuit links Meta’s Instagram to depression, anxiety, insomnia in kids

Meta Platforms and its Instagram unit are facing lawsuits from dozens of U.S. states, including California and New York, alleging that they have exacerbated a youth mental health crisis by creating addictive social media platforms. The attorneys general of 33 states filed a complaint on Tuesday, claiming that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, misled the public about the dangers of its platforms and deliberately encouraged addictive and compulsive social media usage among young children and teenagers.

The complaint filed in the Oakland, California federal court states that “Meta has utilized advanced and unparalleled technologies to attract, engage, and ultimately trap youth and teenagers. Its primary motive is profit.”

Businesses have historically found children to be a desirable demographic, aiming to capture them as consumers during impressionable ages and establish brand loyalty.

In Meta’s case, younger consumers could attract additional advertisers who anticipate these children will continue purchasing their products as they mature.

The states pointed out that research has linked children’s usage of Meta’s social media platforms to various adverse outcomes such as depression, anxiety, insomnia, disruptions in education and daily life, and other negative effects.

Eight additional U.S. states and Washington, D.C. are initiating similar lawsuits against Meta on Tuesday, bringing the total number of authorities taking action against the Menlo Park, California-based company to 42.

As a result, Meta shares experienced a 0.6% decline on the Nasdaq.

These cases mark the latest legal actions against social media companies concerning children and teenagers. Meta, TikTok owned by ByteDance, and YouTube owned by Google are already facing numerous lawsuits filed on behalf of children and school districts, addressing concerns about the addictiveness of social media.

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive, has previously defended his company’s handling of content that some critics find harmful.

“At the heart of these accusations is this idea that we prioritize profit over safety and well-being. That’s just not true,” he posted in October 2021 on his Facebook page.

In Tuesday’s cases, Meta could face civil penalties of $1,000 to $50,000 for each violation of various state laws —

An amount that could add up quickly given the millions of young children and teenagers who use Instagram.

The spotlight on Meta intensified following a whistleblower’s disclosure of documents in 2021, revealing that the company was aware Instagram, initially a photo-sharing app, was addictive and exacerbated body image concerns for certain teenage girls.

The lawsuit filed by 33 states alleged that Meta made deliberate efforts to encourage young individuals to spend excessive amounts of time on social media, despite being aware of their vulnerability to seeking approval through “likes” from other users regarding their content.

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