They want to verify if Meta, the new name of Facebook, has not violated laws on consumer protection and thus "endangered the public," said Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey in a statement.

This is one more hitch for Mark Zuckerberg's group, whose reputation has been heavily tarnished in recent weeks by the revelations of whistleblower Frances Haugen.

According to documents collected by her when she was still working for the company, the social media giant has long been aware, through her own research, of the psychological damage caused by Instagram in children and adolescents.

“Facebook, now called Meta, has failed to protect young people on its platforms and has instead chosen to ignore or, in some cases, reinforce practices that pose a real threat to physical and mental health - - thus exploiting children for profit, ”Healey said Thursday.

The investigation aims to "carefully examine how this company interacts with young users, to identify any illegal practices and to put an end to the abuses," she added.

It was triggered by "recent reports revealing that Meta's own internal research shows that Instagram use is associated with increased risks of damage to the physical and mental health of young people, including depression, sexuality disorders. 'food and even suicide, "said the prosecutor.

The investigation is co-led by representatives, Democrats and Republicans, from the states of California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee and Vermont.

The attorneys general of New York, Colorado and Texas also announced their participation.

"Incomprehension"

All these accusations "are false and demonstrate a profound misunderstanding of the facts," responded a spokeswoman for Meta.

The entire sector is struggling to find solutions to protect children and adolescents, she argued.

Meta is working on designing new tools to help users who may suffer from comparisons with their social or physical life to develop parental controls and provide more appropriate content for children, the spokesperson also said.

The attorneys general of 44 states in the United States had already sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg in May, calling on him to abandon the plan to create a version of Instagram for those under 13.

They mentioned research showing a correlation between the use of social networks and the "increase in psychological distress and suicidal behavior among young people".

After initial revelations based on Frances Haugen's documents and the wave of indignation they raised, the group finally folded in September and said it was "pausing" its work on the matter.

The group then said it wanted to take more time "to work with parents, experts and policy makers to demonstrate the value and need for this service."

Meta also claimed that his research on adolescents has been presented in a biased way and that it also shows positive aspects to the use of social media.

During a hearing at the US Congress devoted to the impact of Facebook and Instagram on young users, Frances Haugen had in early October again focused on the methods that push adolescents to use Instagram in high doses, at the beginning of October. sometimes not to sink into addiction.

In a recent interview with AFP, the whistleblower said she wanted to devote herself to educating young people on social networks, in particular by providing them with "tools" to identify the dangerous effects of platforms.

© 2021 AFP