33 states accuse Meta of having a big 'open secret' — millions of underage users

• Newly unsealed documents claim Meta knowingly has millions of underage users.
• Thirty-three states claim Meta "routinely continued to collect" children's personal information.

Meta knowingly has millions of users under the age of 13 on Instagram and "zealously" protects that information from being disclosed to the public, newly unredacted court documents show, per The New York Times.

An initial, redacted version of the complaint, which was filed in October, accused Meta of "intentionally" designing "its flagship social media platforms, especially Instagram, to be addictive to youth."

An unredacted version that was filed earlier this week by 33 states also accuses Meta of knowing about millions of under-13-year-olds using Instagram, in violation of its general age policy.

Complimentary Tech Event

Transform talent with learning that works

Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

The complaint alleges that "Meta's actual knowledge that millions of Instagram users are under the age of 13 is an open secret that is routinely documented, rigorously analyzed and confirmed," The NYT reported.

The company had reportedly closed "only a fraction" of those accounts.

The complaint also claims that Instagram actively "coveted and pursued" underage users and that Meta "routinely continued to collect" children's personal information, including their email addresses and locations.

Under US law, it is illegal for companies to collect data on children under the age of 13, and each individual violation is subject to fines of up to $50,120.

If proven that Meta knew about millions of underage accounts and did not take action to close them, they could be facing unprecedented fines.

In a statement, Meta said the states' complaint "mischaracterizes our work using selective quotes and cherry-picked documents," per The NYT.

Its statement noted that users under the age of 13 were not allowed to have Instagram accounts and that it had "measures in place to remove these accounts when we identify them."

Meta did not immediately reply to Business Insider's request for comment.