Iowa sues Instagram over harm to youngsters

DES MOINES, Iowa (CN) — Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird sued Meta on Wednesday, claiming it is misleadingly exposing young users to hardcore pornography, profanity, drug and alcohol use and other harmful content.

In the lawsuit, the state claims Meta misrepresents the nature of its content in age ratings on the Apple, Google and Microsoft app stores, and it seeks an injunction requiring the defendants to cease deceptive and unfair statements about content available on Instagram, a subsidiary of the Menlo Park, California-based Meta.

“Instagram says their content is safe for kids. It’s not. And Instagram was designed to get our children addicted to it, causing harm to their mental health and physical safety,” Bird said in a statement issued Wednesday. “What’s worse, they know it is harming children, but deliberately continue to hide the truth from parents, saying it is safe for kids to use.”

Instagram content is restricted by age ranges on the Apple, Google and Microsoft app stores based on the defendants’ answers to age-rating questionnaires — where apps are asked self-select the answer “none,” “infrequent/mild,” or “frequent/intense” to describe the content available on the Instagram app for “alcohol, tobacco or drug use or references,” “sexual content or nudity,” “mature/suggestive themes” and “profanity or crude humor.”

For Instagram, Iowa claims, Meta answered “infrequent” for those categories, and it chose to rate its app 13+, which is for apps that may contain content that is not suitable for users under 13. Instagram uses a similar rating on the Microsoft and Google Play stores.

“Defendants use human and computer moderators to police the content on Instagram, but those moderators either systematically fail or apply internal policies that allow these types of content to remain on the platform. Whether by design or by failure, defendants’ moderators miss large amounts of mature content on Instagram, leaving young Iowans regularly exposed to it,” the state writes in the complaint filed in Polk County District Court in Des Moines.

Iowa cites an investigation by The Wall Street Journal, along with researchers at Stanford University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst that found extensive sexual content on Instagram, including readily accessible child pornography.

“The researchers concluded that Instagram not only permits the access of child pornography on Instagram — it promotes it,” Iowa writes.

Iowa also cites a report by the Digital Citizens Alliance, which found that drugs are bought and sold on Instagram, saying “Facebook-owned Instagram is the second most popular social media app with teens and the home to dealers peddling opioids.”

“Parents deserve to know the truth about the Instagram app. Iowa law requires defendants to stop lying to them about it,” the state says.

The state brings deception, false promise, misrepresentation, and unfair practices claims under Iowa’s Consumer Fraud Act.

Meta disputed Iowa’s claims in a statement by a Meta spokesperson.

“We strongly disagree with these allegations and are confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people,” the spokesperson said. “For over a decade, we’ve listened to parents, worked with experts and law enforcement, and conducted in-depth research to understand the issues that matter most. We use these insights to make meaningful changes — like introducing Teen Accounts with built-in protections and providing parents with tools to manage their teens’ experiences. We’re proud of the progress we’ve made, and we’re always working to do better.”

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