Attorney General Brenna Bird Announces Lawsuit against Meta for Harming Iowa Children

DES MOINES—Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announced she has filed a lawsuit against Meta and several of its subsidiaries, including Instagram and Facebook, for breaking Iowa’s consumer protection laws. The Attorney General’s Office alleges Instagram represents itself as being safe for Iowa's children and teenagers, yet there is explicit content readily available. The state also asserts that Meta designed Instagram to be addictive, particularly to Iowa youth, and that this addiction harms Iowa children by substantially affecting their health. 

In addition to Instagram’s addictive nature and design, Instagram tells consumers that it contains only “infrequent” or “mild” content related to things like drug use, sexual content or nudity, and other mature themes, leading Instagram to rate itself as 12+, 13+ or T for Teen (i.e., suitable for teens 17 and under).  However, the lawsuit asserts Instagram allows rampant “sexual content and nudity, alcohol, tobacco, and drug use and references, and mature/suggestive themes on the Instagram platform, including readily accessible hardcore pornography.” The platform has also been found in third-party investigations to promote or allow child pornography, sexual extortion of teenagers, and open dealing of opioids and other drugs.

The Attorney General’s lawsuit seeks a preliminary and a permanent injunction to force Instagram to change or stop altogether its deceptive and unfair statements about the frequency and severity of drug and alcohol content, sexual content, nudity, mature/suggestive themes, and profanity on the Instagram platform; its inaccurate age-ratings in the App Store and other online marketplaces; and its deceptive public assurances in the Instagram Community Guidelines and elsewhere.

“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,” said Attorney General Bird. “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. As a prosecutor and a mom, I am committed to protecting the rights of all Iowans. Social media companies must comply with our state laws and prioritize the safety and privacy of all Iowans, especially our most vulnerable.”

The lawsuit was filed in Polk County District Court. 

Read the full petition here.

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For More Information:

Jen Green 

jen.green@ag.iowa.gov