Meta staff bluntly described Instagram as a “drug” and themselves as “pushers” in internal chats revealed in a sweeping lawsuit filed in California, where hundreds of school districts and state attorneys general are accusing major social media companies of knowingly designing addictive platforms that harm young users.
The 235-page legal brief, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, targets Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube. What sets this case apart is not just the allegations, but the companies’ own internal messages and research that appear to confirm them. Snapchat leaders admitted their platform consumes users to the point where “Snap dominates their life.” YouTube staff conceded that pushing frequent daily use “was not well-aligned with … efforts to improve digital wellbeing,” yet the company launched YouTube Shorts anyway — fully aware of its addictive mechanics.
The lawsuit alleges these tech giants ignored their own research and instead prioritized engagement and ad revenue. Meta reportedly shelved a study showing users felt less anxious and depressed after a week away from Facebook.