Facebook and Instagram Lawsuits

If you or your child has experienced eating disorders, self-harm, or thoughts of suicide due to social media use, you or your child may be eligible to bring a claim for damages.

In 2021, a former data scientist at Facebook, Frances Haugen, appeared before a U.S. Senate committee and testified that Facebook knowingly ignored its own research indicating that young people, and women in particular, were being harmed by use its platforms. Specifically, Ms. Huagen testified that “Facebook knows that they are leading young users to anorexia content” and that “[t]he company’s leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer but won’t make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people.”

During the hearing, members of Congress echoed the concerns of Ms. Huagen, stating: “Facebook exploited teens using powerful algorithms that amplified their insecurities.”

Research provided by Ms Haugen indicated that the visually focused Instagram app led to body-image and mental health issues and, in some cases, eating disorders and suicidal thoughts. In fact, an internal study leaked by Ms. Haugen revealed that 17% of teen girls indicated that Instagram worsened eating disorders and 13.5% of teen girls indicated that Instagram worsened thoughts of suicide.

Unfortunately, these revelations are not surprising. Meta Platforms, Inc., formerly known as Facebook, Inc., is one of the largest information technology companies in the world. In 2019, the company generated $69.7 billion in revenue from adverts alone, making 98% of its yearly revenue based on marketing toward its user base.

Children and young adults are particularly vulnerable to the potentially damaging content presented by these social media platforms. In recent years, parents and trial lawyers have been taking a stand against social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram as a result of the rise in harm to children and young adults due to algorithms used by these social media platforms.

On June 6, 2022, Meta again came under scrutiny with the filing of the lawsuit of Alexis, Kathleen, and Jeffrey Spence v. Meta Platforms, Inc. The suit alleges that Meta Platforms, the parent company of Instagram, knowingly created addictive features on its platform which caused, then 11-year-old, Alexis Spence to develop an eating disorder and suicidal feelings at such a young age. The suit further alleges that Meta actively targets younger users with its addictive algorithm and directs them to harmful content.