Lawsuit: Meta allowed sex-trafficking posts on Instagram as it put profit over kids’ safety
A significant new court filing claims Facebook and Instagram owner Meta had a “17x” policy allowing sex traffickers to post content related to sexual solicitation or prostitution 16 times before their accounts were suspended on the 17th “strike.” The allegation is one of many in the filing claiming Meta chose profit and user engagement over the safety and well-being of children.
The description of the purported sexual content policy at Instagram is contained in a new court filing by plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit against Meta, Google’s YouTube, Snapchat owner Snap and TikTok brought by children and parents, school districts and states — including California. They accuse the companies of intentionally addicting children to products they knew were harming them.
The filing makes the same general allegations against the four companies — that they targeted children and schools, and misrepresented their social media products — along with company-specific claims.
“Despite earning billions of dollars in annual revenue — and its leader being one of the richest people in the world — Meta simply refused to invest resources in keeping kids safe,” claimed the Friday filing in Oakland’s U.S. District Court. The lawsuit also targets products it deems harmful from Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok. The plaintiffs seek unspecified damages, and a court order requiring the companies stop alleged “harmful conduct” and warn minor users and parents that their products are addictive and dangerous.