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CHICAGO (AP) -- Meta insists it has a long history of protecting its youngest customers as it defends itself against a swath of lawsuits alleging its social media empire harms children.
In the latest such instance, the social media giant is fighting allegations in a California federal court that it contributes to the youth mental health crisis by deliberately and stealthily designing features to get children hooked on its platforms Instagram and Facebook. Four states are seeking billions of dollars in damages as well as fundamental changes to how Meta runs those apps.
Children's mental health, and what they do and see on social media, are all issues "Meta takes seriously and tries to act on," Paul Schmidt, a lawyer for the tech giant, said in opening statements this week.
Critics say the company's safety record falls short and that many of its protections simply don't work.
They include Marc Berkman, executive director at the Organization for Social Media Safety, who said Meta introduced safeguards promising to protect children in response to public pressure rather than out of concern.
There's been a "lack of real institutional willingness to act here," Berkman said.
Most of the changes Meta has introduced focus on addressing harassment and offensive content.
Instagram users have always been able to block others -- and, along with Meta's oldest crown jewel, Facebook -- the app has gradually added features for reporting problematic accounts and inappropriate content.
In 2016, Instagram users were given the option to delete or filter comments they found offensive, and later added warnings that prompted users to reconsider posting potentially harmful content, as well as options to limit comments and tags on their posts.
Meta also says it prevents adults from starting private chats with teens if they are not already connected, and has increased checks to make sure users under 13 -- the minimum age for holding a Facebook or Instagram account -- aren't online. Schmidt said in his opening remarks that Meta recognizes some users still sign up using incorrect birthdays but that the company takes enforcement of age limits seriously.
The company says it also posts warnings and resources at the top of Instagram search results related to suicide, self-harm and eating disorders, and touts its "Teen Accounts," launched in 2024, as a safe space for teenagers online. It aligns photo and video restrictions for teen accounts with those for a PG-13 movie, unless there's parental permission otherwise.
Critics complain these changes amount to little more than corporate posturing.
A September 2025 report from former employee and whistleblower Arturo Bejar and four online safety advocacy nonprofits accused Meta of not taking "real steps" to address youth safety, instead opting for "splashy headlines about new tools for parents and Instagram Teen Accounts for underage users."
"We really found that overall what Meta was marketing under Teen Accounts was very lacking in actual protections," said Haley Hinkle, policy counsel at Fairplay, which co-authored the report. They evaluated 47 of Meta's 53 safety features for teens on Instagram and found 60% of them were either not available or didn't work as advertised, Hinkle said.