Family sues Meta, blaming ‘addictive’ Instagram for daughter’s eating disorder
Lawyers for Alexis Spence claim her ‘addictive’ use of Instagram caused her to suffer self-harm and thoughts of suicide
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Your support makes all the difference.A family has sued Meta over their pre-teen daughter’s eating disorder in a lawsuit that heavily cites the trove of leaked Facebook Papers.
Lawyers for Alexis Spence claim that her “addictive” use of Instagram caused her to also suffer from self-harm and thoughts of suicide over several years.
The lawsuit, which was filed in US District Court for the Northern District of California, brings up the Facebook Papers, internal company documents that state its own research shows that Instagram had a significant mental-health impact on teenage girls.
In late 2021, a Facebook whistleblower disclosed thousands of internal Meta documents to the United States Securities Exchange Commission and Congress alleging that Instagram targeted tweens calling them “herd animals” who “want to find communities where they can fit in.”
It was filed by the Social Media Victims Law Center, a Seattle group that advocates for families of teenagers harmed online.
The lawsuit states that Alexis, who is now 19, first set up an Instagram account when she was 11, despite the social media platform’s age of use being 13.
Court papers state that Alexis used to be “confident and happy” but has been hospitalised with depression, anxiety and anorexia and is in recovery because of the harmful content and features Instagram relentlessly promoted and provided to her in its effort to increase engagement.
“You look at the extensive research that it (Meta) performed, they knew exactly what they were doing to kids, and they kept doing it,” said the founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, Matthew P Bergman, who represents the family.
“I wish I could say that Alexis’ case is aberrational. It’s not. The only aberration is that she survived.”
Mr Bergman is also representing Tammy Rodriguez, the mother of an 11-year-old Connecticut girl who committed suicide last summer. She is suing Mera and Snapchat over their alleged role in her daughter’s death.