Meta class action alleges Instagram contributes to child, teen mental health crisis

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Meta, Instagram mental health class action overview: 

• Who: A mom and dad are suing Instagram owner Meta Platforms on behalf of their 11-year-old daughter.
• Why: The plaintiffs say Meta is responsible for making Instagram a dangerous platform for children, and that their child has been harmed by using it.
• Where: The Instagram mental health class action lawsuit was filed in a California federal court.

The parents of an 11-year-old girl who was allegedly groomed by multiple men on Instagram are suing Meta, saying the company knowingly made the social media platform dangerous for young people’s mental health.   

The two anonymous plaintiffs filed the class action lawsuit Sept. 29 against Meta Platforms Inc. in a California federal court, alleging violations of California business laws and for product liability. The lawsuit is brought on behalf of their child, A.F. 

According to the lawsuit, the parents want to hold Instagram responsible for “causing and contributing to the burgeoning mental health crisis perpetrated upon the children and teenagers of the United States by Meta” and for injuries it caused A.F.

“Those injuries, proximately caused by Meta’s calculated business decisions and unreasonably dangerous Instagram product, include but are not limited to, addiction, sleep deprivation, anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicidal ideation, and extensive exploitation and abuse

carried out because of and to the benefit of Defendant Meta,” the lawsuit states.

Instagram is ‘dangerous and defective,’ lawsuit alleges 

A.F. was 9 years old when she first began using Instagram, without her parents’ knowledge or consent, the lawsuit states. 

It says Meta not only knew that A.F. was under the age of 13, it affirmatively recommended her profile to adult strangers and made her available to those strangers via its direct messaging tool.  

The lawsuit presents screenshots of messages and sexual messages from predators who wrote A.F. and told her that they found her through Meta’s recommendation feature. 

“[Meta] knew or recklessly disregarded the fact that she was contacted by and engaged in extensive live, video, and photo exchanges with countless adult Instagram users,” the lawsuit states.

It says that Meta knows that its products are harming kids and its employees have identified product changes that would prevent or reduce these harms, but Meta has opted not to make them, at the expense of young people.

“A.F. has become suicidal as a result of the mental and physical harms the Instagram product caused her, and her parents fight every day to keep her alive and to get her the help she needs.”

The plaintiffs are seeking financial relief to compensate for the alleged physical and mental pain A.F. has suffered, loss of future income, past and future medical expenses, punitive damages and a jury trial. 

Recently, a young woman sued Facebook and its parent company Meta in a class action lawsuit alleging she developed an addiction to the companies’ social media platforms and that corporate executives put profits above youth mental health.

If you or your loved one suffered a mental health condition from social media use, you may qualify to participate in a lawsuit investigation.

The plaintiffs are represented by Laura Marquez Garrett of Social Media Victims Law Center.

The Meta Platforms class action lawsuit is M.F. et al., V. Meta Platforms Inc, Case No. 4:22-cv-05573-YGR in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. 

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