WASHINGTON – Senator Braun released the following statement supporting Indiana’s Attorney General Todd Rokita joining a lawsuit from 41 states against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, over features designed to get young people addicted to their services and collecting data on children under 13.
“Most kids ages 13-18 are on social media like Instagram, and Meta’s own internal research found that it was increasing suicidal thoughts and eating disorders among young girls,’ said Senator Mike Braun. “I fully support Attorney General Rokita joining 41 states in their bipartisan lawsuit against Meta to protect Hoosier kids from Big Tech platforms that cash in on damaging young people’s mental health.”
The use of Instagram among Americans aged 13 – 18 is nearly universal. Internal research from Meta found “13.5% of teen girls saying Instagram makes thoughts of suicide worse and 17% of teen girls saying it makes eating disorders worse.”
A Wall Street Journal report in 2021 showed that Meta knew the effect its products have on young people, and designed features specifically to increase their market share among young users.
