Meta faces a new flurry of lawsuits blaming Instagram for eating disorders, depression and even the suicide of children and teens. increase. It could pose a threat to Mark Zuckerberg's social media empire.
The lawsuit, replete with disturbing stories of teens being inundated with Instagram posts promoting anorexia, self-harm and suicide, was filed by whistleblower Francis Haugen. It relies heavily on a leak by Mr. 7} Instagram exacerbates body image issues and other mental health issues for many of his teens.
Leaks prove Meta was fully aware that their products were harming children, but chose to prioritize growth and profit over safety. Yes, the lawsuit claims. Some lawsuits also named Snapchat and TikTok, with plaintiffs alleging they promote addictive products despite recognizing fatal downsides.
"In what universe can a company have a product that targets this kind of vile filth, this dangerous content to children? 6+ Lawsuits" Matthew Bergman, founder of the Center for Social Media Victim Law, which caused a
Section 230
Bergman faces uphill Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is a law that has largely protected social media companies from similar lawsuits. But Bergman also has a new legal strategy based on Haugen's leaks.
Meta and other tech companies have used Section 230 to avoid lawsuits for years. rice field. Section 230 was intended to protect Internet users' freedom of speech by exempting web platforms from liability for content posted by third parties.
But Bergman argues that Instagram's problem isn't just about third parties posting harmful content on the app. That is, Instagram's designallows vulnerable users to intentionally direct them to such content. Leak. Therefore, he argues, the company should not be protected by Section 230.
"We believe that attacking a platform as a product is different from Section 230," Bergman said. "230 is a barrier, and we take it seriously and believe there are workable legal theories to get around it."
Meta did not return a request for comment.
Self-harm, addiction, and death
A lawsuit centered on Englin her Roberts, a Louisiana girl who committed suicide at the age of 14 in 2020.
In a lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court in July, Roberts' parents argued that Roberts was "harmed by Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, including violent and disturbing content that glorifies self-harm." I didn't know the extent of being silently attacked with images and videos...and committing suicide.
The more Roberts interacted with such photos and videos, the more the app recommended similar content, and she continued to fall into a vicious circle. Roberts began exchanging self-harm videos with friends, including a disturbing video of a woman hanging from an extension cord through a door in September 2019, according to screenshots included in court documents.
In August 2020, Ms. Roberts used her extension cord to hang her from the door, appearing to mimic her video. Her parents found her hours later and she was taken to the hospital. She was put on life support and died a few days later.
About a year after Roberts' death, Roberts' father saw a report that Francis Haugen had leaked about Instagram damage. He then searched her daughter's old mobile phone and her social media accounts and found her posts and messages about her suicide.
"September 2021 revealed that Englin's death was caused by his addictive use of Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. It was the closest result of physical injury," the lawsuit reads.
This maneuver over Section 230 means that "meta should be concerned," according to Gonzaga Law School Professor Wayne Anger in the recent Bergman case. According to analysis.
"Section 230 grounds for immunity are wholly inapplicable as to Spence's case," he writes Unger. "If the primary beneficiaries of Section 230 protections are Internet users, it follows that the platform should not be permitted to use the Section 230 indemnification for harm that it directly inflicts on users." 80}
``Deliberately releases toxins''
Bergman had represented asbestos victims last year before switching to social media lawsuits following Haugen's testimony.
"For me, it was basically 100 times her of everything I saw in the asbestos industry," Bergman said of Haugen's leak. "Asbestos producers and meth were deliberately releasing toxins."
Other alleged victims of social media represented by Bergman's firm include Louisiana including two teenagers from Wisconsin and one from Wisconsin who committed suicide after becoming addicted to social media apps.
Another disturbing lawsuit filed by a Connecticut motheralleges that her daughter's addiction to social media apps and the accusations against strangers. The preteen girl even made a video of herself taking the drug that killed her, the lawsuit alleges.
Others are still alive, though , has been filed by victims who claim to have suffered severe anorexia, mental trauma, and other harm from social media use.