US State Attorneys General Open Probe into Instagram's Effect on Kids

A bipartisan coalition of U.S. state attorneys general said on Thursday it has opened a probe into Facebook, now known as Meta Platforms, for promoting its subsidiary Instagram to children despite potential harms. From a report: The investigation, which involves at least eight states, comes at a time when Facebook is under scrutiny over its approach to children and young adults. The attorneys general are investigating whether the company violated consumer protection laws and put young people at risk, they said in emailed statements.

The new moral panic

[Valgrus Thunderaxe]

First it was comic books, then the Beatles and Elvis shaking his hips, then heavy metal, and Atari and then Dungeons and Dragons. And Satan. Oh, and Pokemon was a thing too.

Re:

[fustakrakich]

It's a matter of convenience.. Gotta scapegoat something to make it look like you're protecting 'tha children!'

Re:

[gweihir]

First it was comic books, then the Beatles and Elvis shaking his hips, then heavy metal, and Atari and then Dungeons and Dragons. And Satan. Oh, and Pokemon was a thing too.

One has to wonder why we even have adults that are not completely screwed up. Well, there are plenty of completely screwed up adults, centering on the right side of the political spectrum and on the extreme fringes in all directions. But I highly doubt these people are fucked in the head because they were exposed to the things you list.

Re: The new moral panic

[VeryFluffyBunny]

Except in this case, Facebook & Instagram know it's doing measurable harm to children but have decided that harming them is a price they're willing to pay to maintain their profit margins. Apparently in the USA, it's more of a crime not to tell shareholders about harming children than it is to harm children.

Re: The new moral panic

[NagrothAgain]

Except in this case, Facebook & Instagram know it's doing measurable harm to children

Bullshit. If the AGs want to investigate then fine, but maybe they should start with an actual scientific study and not some Woke "whistleblower" trash. Show me actual data which proves harm, how much, of what type, in what age groups and demographics, and compares all of that to other forms of media both "social" and traditional.

Re:

[VeryFluffyBunny]

To answer your question, please refer to the "Woke whistleblower trash" you just mentioned. You know, the stuff that is being treated as valid evidence by the US justice system.

Re:

[Aighearach]

It's a little bit different, because the Beatles didn't do a study and find out their music was harming children, leading them to maximize the harm because the harm sold records.

TSR did not do a study on how to use Dungeons and Dragons to convert children to Satanism.

Bubble wrapping the world - step 67

[SmaryJerry]

Of course social media is not exactly best for kids but social media issues can be managed. A probe into this feels a lot like the last generation screaming at their kids in the 90s for watching too much MTV. Can we allow parents to take responsibility for being parents? Why is it always some company's problem for what your kids do?

We also need to study

[jfdavis668]

Instagram's effect on US State Attorneys General.

probing kids on Instagram

[awwshit]

The USAG is probing kids on Instagram? That is just sick and wrong.

Government

[endus]

Our government is such a complete and total joke my initial reaction is to roll my eyes heavily at this.

But, thinking about it, the government's actual role (as opposed to what it spends its time on today) is to protect people's life, liberty, and property. So it's possible that there could be something legitimate here. I think it's reasonable to say that there are real issues with body image, depression, bullying, etc. associated with being a kid and with social media in particular. Those are things soc