RICHMOND (WINA) – State Attorney General Jason Miyares has filed suit along with 41 others against Meta. Miyares in a Richmond press conference claims Meta is violating state and federal consumer and child protection laws… knowingly designing and deploying harmful features on Instagram and its other platforms. He claims these tools hook children who have not the experience or brain to resist.

Miyares says the algorithms often lead children to suicide, negative comparison, and hate speech videos. He also said just as tobacco companies once used advertising characters such as Joe Camel to lure in young smokers, Meta is using advertising such as children’s TV programs and other items to lure kids to platforms like Instagram. This is happening even though children under 13 are not even supposed to be able to have an account.

Miyares says Meta can either decide it’s never too late to do the right thing and implement “robust enhanced age verification”… or go to court.

Click here for the full release, as well as the written complaint.