(New York) Attorneys general for several states in the United States announced on Thursday that they have opened a joint investigation to determine whether Instagram’s parent company has deliberately let children and teens use its social network knowing that it may be harmful to their mental and physical health.
They “are examining whether (Meta, the parent company of Instagram) has broken consumer protection laws and put the public at risk,” Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statement.
“Facebook, now called Meta, has failed to protect young people on its platforms and has instead chosen to ignore or, in some cases, reinforce practices that pose a real threat to physical and mental health – – thus exploiting children to make a profit, ”she explains.
The investigation aims to “scrupulously examine how this company interacts with young users, to identify any illegal practice and to put an end to the abuses”, adds the prosecutor.
The survey is co-led by representatives, Democrats and Republicans, from the states of California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee and Vermont.
The attorneys general of New York, Colorado and Texas have also announced their participation.
The attorneys general of 44 states had already sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg in May, calling on him to abandon plans to create an under-13 version of Instagram.
They mentioned research showing a correlation between the use of social networks and the “increase in psychological distress and suicidal behavior among young people”.
The group had finally folded in September in the face of multiple criticism and indicated that it was “putting on pause” its work on this new version.
Whistleblower Frances Haugen had a few weeks later, during a hearing devoted to the impact of Facebook and Instagram on young users, criticized the methods that cause teens to use Instagram in high doses, to the point sometimes to fall into dependency.