1. United States
2. N.Y.
3. Letter

Meta's internal research reveals deeply troubling facts about the extent of harmful content on Instagram and its negative impacts, especially for children and teens. The findings show alarmingly high rates of users encountering misinformation, hate speech, sexual harassment, and content promoting self-harm. Teens reported the highest exposure, with over 54% of users aged 13-17 experiencing at least one type of online harm in just a 7-day period. Furthermore, Instagram's core features like direct messaging, feed, and explore pages were found to be major sources propagating this harmful content. The detrimental effects on youth mental health are severe, with many users feeling worse about themselves after using the app. While Meta claims to prioritize user safety, its actions tell a different story. The company actively suppressed these disturbing findings and continues to use misleading "prevalence" metrics that vastly understate the problem. Such unethical conduct demonstrates Meta cannot be trusted to self-regulate. Firm legislative action holding Meta accountable is urgently needed to protect young people from the demonstrably harmful impacts of its platforms. Policymakers must implement comprehensive regulations centered on transparency, platform accountability, and holistic safety standards - such as those outlined in the STAR framework. The overwhelming evidence leaves no doubt that aggressive measures constraining Meta's ability to reach children are justified and imperative to safeguard this vulnerable population.