Criticizing Meta's Failure to Protect Teen Users on Instagram

Critics of Meta argue that the lawsuit exposes a pattern of putting profits before youth well-being. Internal documents, as reported, allegedly showed that Instagram made body image issues worse for one in three teen girls. Yet Meta continued to deploy features like infinite scroll and personalized recommendations that maximize screen time. Opponents say the company's announced safety measures are too little, too late, and often undermined by the core design of the platform. They point to the difficulty of enforcing age checks and the persistence of harmful content. The lawsuit, they argue, is a necessary step to hold Meta accountable and force structural changes, such as removing algorithmic amplification of risky content. In the UK, the Online Safety Act is set to impose stricter duties on platforms. Critics warn that without legal pressure, Meta will not make the fundamental changes needed to protect vulnerable teenagers. They also highlight the broader societal cost of rising rates of anxiety and depression among young people, which they link to social media use.