California is one of nearly a dozen states investigating Meta, the social media conglomerate formerly known as Facebook, for promoting Instagram to children and adolescents despite its potential harms.
Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on Thursday that California joined a nationwide, bipartisan investigation into the company for promoting the platform, which Meta's own internal research showed could have dangerous impacts on younger users.
Bonta's office said in a statement the investigation centers on techniques Meta uses to increase the amount of time young users engage with Instagram and the harmful outcomes caused by time spent on the app. He and his fellow attorneys general are also looking to see if the company violated consumer protection laws.
"For too long, Meta has ignored the havoc that Instagram is wreaking on the mental health and well-being of our children and teens," Bonta said. "Enough is enough. We've undertaken this nationwide investigation to get answers about Meta's efforts to promote the use of this social media platform to young Californians – and to determine if, in doing so, Meta violated the law."
The New York Times reported on Thursday the coalition of states includes Republican and Democratic attorneys general from 11 states and the District of Columbia. Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee and Vermont are among the other states.
Media reports and Congressional testimony over the last two months revealed that Meta's internal research shows young users are at increased risk of developing physical and mental health issues such as depression, eating disorders and even suicide.
Meta has already been in California's regulatory sights this year. In May, Bonta was one of 43 attorneys general to urge for Meta to stop working on a version of Instagram for users under the age of 13. Meta announced in September it was pausing development of the potential platform following criticism.
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