Meta is facing a new round of legal action accusing Instagram of fuelling eating disorders, depression, and even suicides among children and teens. Experts say these suits use an innovative argument, which may threaten Mark Zuckerberg’s social media empire.
The suits are full of troubling stories about teens being bombarded with Instagram posts promoting anorexia, self-harm and suicide and lean heavily on a leak from whistleblower Frances Haugen, who revealed internal Meta documents last year showing Instagram’s issues with body image and other mental health issues worse for many teens.
Meta and other technology companies have been fighting the suits for years using Section 230, which protects Internet users’ freedom of speech by barring Web platforms from being held legally liable for what third parties publish.
But Mr Bergman believes the issue with Instagram is not simply that third parties are posting infringing content to the app: It is that Instagram’s design may intentionally direct vulnerable users toward that content, as detailed in the Ms Haugen leak. So, he contends, the company should not be protected under Section 230.