Facebook’s parent company faces mental health lawsuit; social media expert talks tips online
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Many parents are worried about their child's use of social media — and with lawsuits focused on the mental health impacts of social media platforms — those concerns are heightened.
ABC-7's Avery Martinez spoke with an expert in social media and mental health about the impact of a lawsuit involving multiple attorneys general and the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta Platforms.
A total of 42 Attorneys General from both parties have joined the suit, alleging that Meta deliberately exploited vulnerable youth — and violating the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Law.
Specifically, the suit claims that Meta knew about the harm, both mental and otherwise, the apps practices caused to teenagers. Especially girls. These practices were designed to increase usage, and profit the company. One noteworthy claim in the AG's suit is that Meta knew of concerns raised internally — and ignored them anyway.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg is being accused of ignoring or waving protections for teenagers on Facebook and Instagram, according to unsealed documents in a lawsuit by the Massachusetts Attorney General. The AG claims that Meta had unfair and deceptive practices which harmed young users mental health and overall wellbeing.
The newly released documents appear to show that Zuckerberg either stopped or simply disregarded top executives' concerns about the impacts on teens. Supposedly the CEO of Instagram, and the President of Global Affairs both asked Zuckerberg directly to take more steps to protect more than 30 million children across the country who use Instagram.
The documents outline a 2019 proposal to disable "beauty filters" on Instgram, which uses tech to alter how users look on-screen. There have been allegations that this program negatively impacts teen mental health by showing an unrealistic image of the human body.
Zuckerberg allegedly wrote to staff in 2020 saying demand for the beauty filters was high, and he hadn't seen any data suggesting harm by the tech. However, the lawsuit claims many leaders at Instagram had supported this proposal -- and that it was well known.
Other worries about bullying, self-harm and addiction connected to Meta content had been raised by executives in the past, according to allegations launched by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, who revealed herself as the source last month.
Meta previously issued a statement to ABC-7 about the lawsuits:
“We share the attorneys general’s commitment to providing teens with safe, positive experiences online, and have already introduced more than 30 tools to support teens and their 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.”
Meta Spokesperson
Avery Martinez covers mental health in the Borderland as part of ABC-7’s Be Mindful initiative. He is also a Report for America corps member. RFA places talented, emerging journalists in newsrooms like ABC-7’s to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America is an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, an award-winning nonprofit journalism organization dedicated to rebuilding journalism from the ground up.
