Report: State AGs Investigate Instagram's Impact on Children

According to the Wall Street Journal, the psychological effects of Facebook-owned platform Instagram on young children are being investigated by a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general. Nebraska’s Republican Attorney General Doug Peterson stated: “When social media platforms treat our children as mere commodities to manipulate for longer screen time engagement and data extraction, it becomes imperative for state attorneys general to engage our investigative authority under our consumer protection laws.”

The Wall Street Journal reports that the psychological effects of the Facebook-owned photo and video-sharing platform Instagram are being investigated by a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general, putting further pressure on Facebook (now called Meta) to address the potential harm of its platforms.

Mark Zuckerberg discusses Instagram (AFP/Getty)

stock photo (Getty Images)

The states of Massachusetts and Nebraska have led the coalition which involves at least eight states and focuses on “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.”

The attorneys general are reportedly investigating whether Facebook violated consumer protection laws and put members of the public at risk. Nebraska’s Republican Attorney General Doug Peterson stated: “When social media platforms treat our children as mere commodities to manipulate for longer screen time engagement and data extraction, it becomes imperative for state attorneys general to engage our investigative authority under our consumer protection laws.”

Other attorneys general involved in the investigation include California, Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Vermont, but the full list of states that are involved in the probe has yet to be made public.

In a report titled “Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show,” the WSJ claimed that Facebook was aware that its photo-sharing app Instagram can have a negative effect on the body image of young women.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri (Steve Jennings/Getty)

The WSJ wrote:

“Thirty-two percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse,” the researchers said in a March 2020 slide presentation posted to Facebook’s internal message board, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. “Comparisons on Instagram can change how young women view and describe themselves.”

…

“We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls,” said one slide from 2019, summarizing research about teen girls who experience the issues.

“Teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression,” said another slide. “This reaction was unprompted and consistent across all groups.”

Research by the activist group SumOfUs appears to show that Instagram still displays posts promoting eating disorders, diet pills, and skin whitening products to teenagers. Instagram has banned some hashtags relating to eating disorders but researchers found that users can get around these restrictions by using creative hashtags that have racked up over tens of millions of posts. Breitbart News reported on this research in October.

Even the company’s new features seemed aimed at younger users. Instagram recently introduced a “rage shake” feature which allows users to physically shake their device in order to report a problem with the app. Instagram head Adam Mosseri discussed the feature, stating:

“Have you ever used Instagram and it just wasn’t working like it was supposed to? Maybe Stories didn’t load, maybe the audio wasn’t working, maybe you just couldn’t upload a photo and it was just getting really getting you, really just pissing you off?”

Mosseri added: “Well now, you can literally shake the phone and a little option will come up that allows you to report a problem.”

Read more at the Wall Street Journal here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address [email protected]

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