Meta accused of dragging feet on teen safety tools as addiction case heats up

Instagram

• Meta delayed blurring explicit images for teens until April 2024
• 1 in 5 young teens exposed to unwanted sexual images
• US lawsuit claims tech firms prioritized growth over teen safety

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A federal lawsuit in the United States is casting fresh light on how long it took Meta to introduce certain safety tools for teenagers on Meta’s Instagram.

In a newly unsealed deposition, Instagram head Adam Mosseri was questioned about a 2018 internal email chain in which he acknowledged that “horrible” things could happen via Instagram’s direct messages. When pressed by lawyers, he agreed that such harms could include unsolicited explicit images sent to minors.

Yet it was not until April 2024 that Instagram introduced a feature to automatically blur explicit images in direct messages sent to teens. Prosecutors argue that this six-year gap shows the company was aware of risks to minors but moved slowly to address them.

Mosseri pushed back against suggestions that Instagram should have explicitly warned parents that private messages were not actively monitored beyond the removal of CSAM. He maintained that harmful content can circulate on any messaging platform and said the company had to balance user privacy with safety considerations.

The deposition also disclosed internal survey data. Nearly one in five users aged 13 to 15 reported seeing nudity or sexual images they did not want to see on Instagram. A further 8.4 per cent said they had encountered content showing self-harm or threats of self-harm in the previous week they used the app.

The case is one of several lawsuits across the US seeking to hold major technology firms accountable for alleged harm to teenagers. Defendants include Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube, owned by Google. Plaintiffs argue that these platforms were designed to maximise screen time and engagement, contributing to addictive behaviour among young users.

Meta spokesperson Liza Crenshaw said the company has worked with parents, experts and law enforcement for over a decade and highlighted the introduction of Teen Accounts with built-in protections. She added that Meta remains committed to improving its safety tools.

The timing of the case is notable. Lawmakers in multiple US states, as well as governments abroad, are tightening restrictions on social media use by minors. Courts will now have to decide whether tech giants moved fast enough to protect their youngest users — or whether growth and engagement took priority over safety.