Nashville-Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III is leading a nationwide investigation into Meta Platforms, Inc., formerly known as Facebook, for providing and promoting its social media platform – Instagram – to children and young adults despite knowing that such use is associated with mental health harms. Attorneys General across the country are examining whether the company violated state consumer protection laws and put the public at risk.
The investigation targets, among other things, Meta’s manipulative techniques to increase the frequency and duration of engagement by young users and the resulting harms caused by such extended engagement.
Thursday’s announcement follows recent reports revealing that Meta’s own internal research shows that using Instagram is associated with increased risks of physical and mental health harms on young people, including depression, eating disorders, and even suicide.