UPDATE: Newly unsealed court documents reveal shocking allegations that Meta intentionally concealed evidence demonstrating Instagram’s harmful effects on children. This urgent development comes as part of a sweeping lawsuit filed by state attorneys general, school districts, and parents, targeting Meta along with TikTok, Snap, and YouTube.
The documents, released just moments ago in federal court in Northern California, indicate that Meta downplayed internal research showing that Instagram can be addictive and detrimental to young users. According to the New York Post, internal communications describe the platform as “a drug,” with employees likening their role to “pushers.” This raises serious questions about the company’s commitment to child safety.
One internal user experience researcher expressed alarm, stating, “Oh my gosh yall IG is a drug,” while another noted that Instagram chief Adam Mosseri “freaked out” when confronted with findings about the platform’s addictive features. Testimonies reveal a disturbing pattern of Meta ignoring warnings about its impact on youth, including links to anxiety, depression, and harmful social comparisons.
The lawsuit, which is gaining momentum, claims that these exchanges illustrate a broader effort by Meta to bury critical research. Plaintiffs argue that internal warnings regarding potential targeting of minors by sexual predators were also overlooked. A spokesperson for Meta responded, asserting, “We strongly disagree with these allegations, which rely on cherry-picked quotes and misinformed opinions.”
Among the most alarming revelations is the testimony from Vaishnavi Jayakumar, Instagram’s former head of safety and well-being. She disclosed that Meta enforced a “17x” rule for suspending accounts involved in sex trafficking, meaning users could violate guidelines 16 times before facing suspension. “By any measure across the industry, that is a very, very high strike threshold,” Jayakumar testified.
Another significant finding relates to “Project Mercury,” a study conducted in 2020 that examined users’ mental health after a break from Facebook and Instagram. The results indicated that users reported lower levels of depression, anxiety, and loneliness after just one week away from the platforms. Instead of investigating these findings further, Meta allegedly dismissed the results as biased, opting to bury them instead.
Critics are pointing to these revelations as further evidence of Meta’s negligence. Sacha Haworth of the Tech Oversight Project stated, “Mark Zuckerberg has blood on his hands: he has known for over a decade that pedophiles and sex traffickers were targeting children on his platforms.” This stark comment underscores the human impact of the allegations.
As the lawsuit unfolds, pressure mounts on Meta from lawmakers in Washington who have long accused the company of downplaying risks associated with its platforms. A spokesperson for Google, which owns YouTube, dismissed the claims, asserting, “These lawsuits fundamentally misunderstand how YouTube works.”
With the stakes higher than ever, the outcomes of this case could have profound implications for social media regulation and child safety. The public is urged to stay tuned for further developments as this story evolves.
