US prosecutors investigate harmful effects of Instagram – Noticieros Televisa

A coalition of US state prosecutors said Thursday they are investigating how the social network instagram recruits and influences very young people, an action that increases pressure on parent company Meta (old Facebook) for potentially harmful effects on its users.

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Led by Massachusetts and Nebraska prosecutors, who have joined at least seven more states, the coalition is “focusing on techniques used by META to increase the frequency and duration of youth user interactions and the resulting harm.” could”.

Attorneys general for states ruled by both Democrats and Republicans said they were investigating whether META violated consumer protection laws and put the public at risk.

“When social media platforms treat our children as products to simply manipulate them to spend more time in front of screens and extract data, it is imperative that the state attorney general comply with consumer protection laws. Communicate with the investigating officers.” Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson said in a statement.

For her part, New York Attorney General Letitia James spoke harshly against Mark Zuckerberg’s social media, which she said was “extremely dangerous and has been shown to cause both physical and mental harm to young people.”

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s called Instagram, Facebook or Meta, the facts remain the same,” James said, repeatedly, adding that Mark Zuckerberg and the companies he manages have prioritized profit over security.

In addition to Massachusetts, Nebraska and New York, the attorney generals of California, Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, Tennessee and Vermont are part of the joint investigation, although there may be more states, as the full list of participants has not yet been completed. made public.

The investigation comes after noting that Instagram’s effects on youth have been received after the Wall Street Journal published an internal investigation last September into the company, which determined that its own product was “massive”. negative social comparison”. Number of users.

He also pointed out that given its format based on photographs and images, it can cause body image problems, especially in young women.

With information from EFE

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