Source: newrepublic.com 12/3/25
Shocking new revelations about Instagram in a lawsuit against social media companies should pave the way for an ambitious prosecutor to file criminal charges.
Should Mark Zuckerberg be handcuffed—literally—for the threat his products pose to millions of children? That’s the inescapable question raised by a legal brief filed last month in a civil case against major social media companies.
The litigation, which alleges that social media platforms have been purposefully cultivating addiction among adolescents, has been working its way through the courts since 2022. But the details laid out in this new court filing, and reported recently by Time, contain genuinely horrifying claims about Zuckerberg’s Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. And they suggest that—in addition to the tort claims being pursued by the families, school districts, and state attorneys general behind this multidistrict litigation—the corporate executives responsible for these harms could and should be criminally prosecuted for child endangerment.
The plaintiffs’ brief alleges that Meta was aware that its platforms were endangering young users, including by exacerbating adolescents’ mental health issues. According to the plaintiffs, Meta frequently detected content related to eating disorders, child sexual abuse, and suicide but refused to remove it. For example, one 2021 internal company survey found that more than…
Personally, I doubt online predation is as prevalent as portrayed. And if I’m wrong, the more effective solution would be for parents to keep their kids offline.
Very interesting concept. They are on par with cigarette producers IMO of yesterday before they were busted.
The govnuh of Colorado said those who are addicted to whatever can go to therapy during his last election run instead of trying to stop the flow of drugs to them and minors. Deaths continue to happen.
It is proven people can become addicted their phones and social media but how do you hold them accountable instead of the parent (as Dustin said) who is not watching their minors and their online activity? The biggest thing will be labels like the fine print we are supposed to read and know of those things which are supposedly dangerous to us humans.
I hate social media with a passion. Don’t use it. Don’t have it.
What about the fact that the government uses these platforms in sting operations to not only “catch predators ” but also to create them. I myself, and others I was in the bop with had very similar stories using the social media platform known as KIK. Mine is a long story and I won’t go into here but, I will say that the local sheriff’s department along with the feds ran a 2 year sting on KIK citing they knew people were viewing, sharing, and having interactions on the app. My question is when they knew the app was allowing this why didn’t they shut it down. I personally believe that the feds were the ones posting a lot of the material for entrapment. But as I’ve have heard, with the feds there is no entrapment and good luck trying to prove otherwise.
It’s truly alarming to learn about the revelations regarding Instagram’s impact on adolescents. The idea of holding Mark Zuckerberg accountable for the dangers his platforms pose to children is indeed a pressing issue. The details outlined in the legal brief shed light on the deliberate actions taken by Meta snow rider 3d, which knowingly allowed harmful content to persist on its platforms. This raises significant ethical and legal concerns. The thought of potential criminal prosecution for child endangerment is a critical step towards ensuring the safety of young users online. It’s a complex discussion that highlights the importance of regulating social media responsibly. How do you think this case will influence future platform policies?