Massachusetts to update multistate probe on Instagram’s impact on kids

WASHINGTON : The Massachusetts attorney general’s office said on Monday that it would provide an update on Tuesday into a multistate probe into Meta Platforms and allegations its subsidiary Instagram was harmful to children.

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell’s office noted they were co-leading a bipartisan nationwide probe of the company that began in 2021. That probe looked at allegations Meta promoted Instagram to children despite potential harms, the states said in 2021.

A Meta spokesperson said, “We’re disappointed that instead of working productively with companies across the industry to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps teens use, the attorneys general have chosen this path,” without indicating what action the states would take.

Connecticut and Vermont will discuss a lawsuit on Tuesday but did not say what company was involved. Tennessee and Virginia plan to hold press conferences on Meta or Big Tech.