A bipartisan group state attorneys general stated on Thursday that they have opened an investigation into Meta, a company formerly known under Facebook, for promoting the social media app Instagram, while knowing of mental or emotional harms caused.
At least nine states are currently involved in the investigation. These include California, Florida and Massachusetts, Massachusetts, Nebraska as well as New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Vermont, and New Jersey.
Maura Healey, the Massachusetts attorney general and one of the leaders of the investigation, said the states were examining whether the company’s actions violated state consumer protection laws and put the public at risk.
“Facebook, now Meta, has failed to protect young people on its platforms and instead chose to ignore or, in some cases, double down on known manipulations that pose a real threat to physical and mental health — exploiting children in the interest of profit,” Ms. Healey said.
The company’s former employee discovered documents that detailed research into the company. These documents suggested that teenagers may have body image issues while using Instagram. The documents, called The Facebook Papers were shared with journalists in October. Frances Haugen, whistle-blower, first reported on the Instagram documents and issues.
Doug Peterson, the Nebraska attorney general and another leader of the investigation, said the states would examine the “the techniques utilized by Meta to increase the frequency and duration of engagement by young users and the resulting harms caused by such extended engagement.”
“When social media platforms treat our kids as mere commodities to manipulate for longer screen time engagement & data extraction, it becomes imperative for state attorneys general to engage our investigative authority under our consumer protection laws,” Mr. Peterson said in a tweet.
The Facebook Papers span tens or thousands of pages with gigabytes of information. They show how Facebook struggles to deal with many of the issues that arise from its massive scale and billions in users. Much of the information came in the form of detailed reports investigating the issues, laid out by the company’s research division.
Meta has said the research efforts are intended to address the issues they pinpoint, with the aim of improving the company’s products and services.
According to the documents, around a third of teenage girls who felt unhappy about their bodies believed that Instagram made it worse. “Comparisons on Instagram can change how young women view and describe themselves,” the documents said.
Meta has disputed the characterization of the initial reporting on Instagram’s issues, saying that the story lacked context and left out vital information.
Representatives of Meta did not immediately respond on Thursday to a request to comment.
This is a breaking news story. Keep checking back for more updates.
Source: NY Times
