New Jersey is co-leading a nationwide investigation into whether Instagram and its parent company Meta Platforms, Inc. are violating state consumer protection laws by employing techniques that induce children, teenagers, and young adults to use the platform in potentially harmful ways. The bipartisan coalition of attorneys general is examining the potential mental and physical health harms resulting from extended engagement, including depression, anxiety, and body image issues.
In-house legal teams should review vendor agreements (particularly with advertisers and analytics partners), customer-facing terms of service, and any data processing agreements involving youth data. Focus on clauses governing user safety for minors, algorithmic design and engagement metrics, age verification and parental consent mechanisms, and provisions addressing mental or physical health impacts. Potential changes include adding youth safety addendums, mandating regular mental health impact assessments for features targeting users under 25, implementing stricter age-gating and usage time limits, enhancing transparency about algorithmic curation, and incorporating state-specific consumer protection compliance requirements for young users.
Entity
Meta Platforms, Inc.
Also known as: Meta
Industry
Social Media"Meta Platforms, Inc. (formerly known as Facebook)"
"investigation is centered on techniques employed by Instagram’s parent company Meta Platforms, Inc. (formerly known as Facebook) to increase both the frequency and duration of engagement by young users, and on the potential harms that may result from such extended engagement."
"emerging research suggests a nexus between increased time spent online by young persons – particularly on social media platforms – and such ill effects as depression, anxiety, isolation, body image issues, cyber-bullying, eating disorders, and sleeplessness"
"New Jersey is co-leading a nationwide investigation into whether the social media platform Instagram is violating state consumer protection laws and putting children, teenagers and young adults at risk"
"the bipartisan coalition of Attorneys General leading the investigation includes Attorneys General from Nebraska, Massachusetts, California, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Vermont."
$1.0B
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a historic settlement with Meta Platforms, Inc. requiring Meta to pay over $1 billion and implement significant new safeguards to protect children online. The settlement includes stricter age-assurance measures, a daily two-hour limit for teen users, default disabling of notifications during school hours, hidden likes/reactions, and a nighttime access mode restricting features for children.
$17.0B
Meta Platforms, Inc. agreed to a landmark $17 billion multistate settlement resolving claims that it intentionally designed addictive features on Facebook and Instagram that harmed youth mental health, and misled the public about platform safety. Virginia will receive a guaranteed $353 million, and Meta must implement extensive child-safety measures including daily time limits, age verification, and content restrictions.
$17.1B
Attorney General James and a bipartisan coalition of 50 other attorneys general secured a landmark settlement with Meta Platforms, Inc. (Meta) worth up to $17.1 billion to address the company's harmful and addictive features targeting minors on Facebook and Instagram. The settlement requires Meta to implement significant changes, including age verification, time limits for minors, restrictions on notifications, and options to opt out of algorithmic feeds, along with monetary payments to states for mental health and education programs.
A bipartisan coalition of 33 state attorneys general, led by Minnesota AG Keith Ellison, began trial against Meta Platforms, Inc., alleging the company knowingly designed and deployed harmful features on Facebook and Instagram that drive children and teens to use the platforms compulsively, while falsely assuring parents and the public that its platforms were safe for young users. The states also allege Meta illegally collected personal information from children under 13 without parental consent, violating COPPA. The trial opened before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, with the states seeking monetary penalties and injunctive relief.
A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general led by New Jersey, California, Colorado, and Kentucky is taking Meta Platforms, Inc. to trial, alleging that Meta designed addictive features on Instagram and Facebook that harm minors' mental health, illegally collected data from children under 13 without the required protections under COPPA, and misled users about platform safety. Opening arguments begin August 18, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. No monetary penalty or final remedy has yet been imposed.
New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a statement marking the first day of trial in a multistate lawsuit against Meta, alleging the company knowingly designed addictive features on Facebook and Instagram that harm children's mental health. The coalition alleges Meta illegally collected personal information from children under 13 without parental consent, violating COPPA, and seeks monetary penalties, restitution, and an injunction against deceptive practices.