Instagram is facing more legal heat as new lawsuits claim that the social media app caused eating disorders and other mental health issues in teens.

On Monday, Instagram-owner Meta was hit with two new lawsuits accusing it of fueling eating disorders and other mental health problems in teenagers.

The complaints are the latest in a string of lawsuits linking social media to mental health problems in children.

The families of two girls, both represented by Laura Marquez-Garrett of the Social Media Victims Law Center, filed lawsuits alleging that Instagram caused the girls to become addicted to the service and develop depression, anxiety and anorexia.

Both of Monday’s lawsuits said Instagram’s algorithm encouraged eating disorders by showing the teens pictures of very thin models and content related to extreme exercise.

Both girls attempted suicide and were hospitalised multiple times, according to the lawsuits. One of them had to have a feeding tube at times because she would not eat.

The lawsuit claimed that the company knew that some people became addicted to the service and that teenagers were especially vulnerable. They also said that the company failed to verify users’ ages, allowing both girls to join when they were only 12 despite the minimum age being 13.

The tech giant is also accused of failing to shield minors from sexual messages with the algorithm recommending ‘friends’ who were, in fact, adult Instagram users either suffering from these mental health issues themselves or using the Instagram product to find and exploit young girls’.

At least nine other lawsuits have been filed against Meta alleging harm to minors’ mental health, including one accusing the company of contributing to an 11-year-old girl’s suicide. So far, all are in their early stages.

In June, Instagram introduced new parental supervision tools for the accounts of teenagers in the UK.

Metro.co.uk has reached out to Meta for comment.

Source: Read Full Article