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."
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and the Bureau of Securities issued a public warning to state residents about fraudulent investment schemes proliferating on Meta-owned platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The alert details common scam tactics such as pump-and-dump schemes, confidence scams, and fraudulent cryptocurrency offerings, and provides tips for residents to avoid victimization. No enforcement action against any entity was announced in this release.
$1.4B
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a record-setting $1.4 billion settlement with Meta for unlawfully capturing and using the biometric data of millions of Texans, marking one of the largest privacy settlements in U.S. history.
Attorney General William Tong led a bipartisan coalition of 42 attorneys general in urging Meta Platforms to protect users from fraudulent investment ads on Facebook that facilitate pump-and-dump schemes, causing significant financial losses. The coalition calls for enhanced ad review processes, including human review for investment ads, and suggests ceasing investment ads if scams cannot be curbed.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a bipartisan coalition of 41 attorneys general in sending a letter to Meta Platforms, Inc. to address the rising number of Facebook and Instagram account takeovers by scammers. The coalition criticizes Meta's inadequate security measures and calls for improved protections including multi-factor authentication, increased staffing for response, and stronger enforcement against scammers. The letter urges Meta to take immediate action to safeguard user accounts from hijacking and fraud.
New Jersey, leading a coalition of 41 other attorneys general, sued Meta for knowingly designing addictive Instagram and Facebook features targeting children and teens while falsely claiming the platforms were safe. The lawsuit alleges Meta collected personal data from users under 13 without parental consent, violating the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and state consumer protection laws like the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.
$100K
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and the Division of Consumer Affairs announced a Consent Order with King Distribution LLC and 17 related retail smoke shops, resolving allegations that the companies illegally sold flavored vapor products in violation of New Jersey’s consumer protection laws. The Consent Order imposes a $100,000 civil penalty, requires reimbursement of $22,279 in investigation costs, and prohibits the companies from selling or distributing flavored vapor products in New Jersey. The enforcement action is part of New Jersey’s ongoing efforts to protect youth from flavored vape products, which have been permanently banned in the state since January 2020.