Meta is once again under fire after newly unsealed court filings revealed allegations that the company allowed accounts involved in severe policy violations to remain active far longer than expected. According to testimony from Vaishnavi Jayakumar, Meta’s former head of safety and well-being, the platform gave users accused of participating in “trafficking of humans for sex” up to 16 violations before suspending their accounts.
Jayakumar said in her deposition that the enforcement threshold was unusually high compared to industry standards, meaning accounts could repeatedly break rules against prostitution or sexual solicitation and still continue operating. It was only after a seventeenth violation that the system would trigger a suspension. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs say internal Meta documents back up her claims.
These details appear in an unredacted court filing tied to a growing legal effort by school districts across the United States. The districts accuse Meta and other large social media companies of choosing engagement and growth over user safety, particularly when it comes to children and teens.
Claims Instagram Failed to Offer a Direct Way to Report Child Abuse Material
The newly opened documents also highlight allegations of serious safety gaps within Instagram. According to the filing, Instagram did not offer a specific tool for users to directly report child sexual abuse material (CSAM), a fundamental function for any major social platform.
Jayakumar said she repeatedly raised concerns internally about the absence of such a tool. But she was allegedly told that building and supporting a dedicated reporting system would require significant time and resources. The filing states that the request for a CSAM reporting mechanism was not prioritized, leaving users without a clear way to alert the company about some of the most dangerous content imaginable.
Meta Faces Intensifying Scrutiny Over Its Handling of Teen Safety
The allegations surface as Meta continues to face a broad wave of regulatory and legal challenges. Although the company recently prevailed in a major antitrust dispute with the Federal Trade Commission, its battles on the child safety front are escalating.
The unredacted filing is part of a sweeping lawsuit that also targets TikTok, Google, and Snapchat. School districts, attorneys general, and parents claim that these platforms play a direct role in harming youth by offering features designed to maximize time spent online while exposing teens to addictive behaviors and harmful content.
The plaintiffs argue that Meta, in particular, has made design and moderation choices that favor growth over well-being. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously said that he does not believe social media causes declines in teen mental health, a position that stands in stark contrast to the concerns raised by educators and medical experts.
Internal Decisions Allegedly Tilted Toward Engagement Over Protection
The unsealed documents provide a closer look at internal discussions that plaintiffs say demonstrate Meta’s reluctance to adopt safety measures that could hurt engagement metrics.
One example dates back to 2019, when Meta explored making all teen Instagram accounts private by default. The idea was intended to reduce unwanted messages and improve protections for younger users. However, according to the filing, Meta’s growth team pushed back, warning that the change would sharply reduce engagement. The initiative was postponed for years, and Meta only began defaulting teen accounts to private settings last year.
Internal research also indicated that hiding like counts on posts would reduce harmful self-comparison among users. The documents state that users would be “significantly less likely to feel worse about themselves” without visible like numbers. But the proposal reportedly stalled after internal teams found that removing likes would negatively affect Facebook’s performance metrics. As a result, the feature was never fully implemented in a way that prioritized user mental health.
Beauty Filters Reintroduced Despite Internal Concerns
The lawsuit further points to Meta’s 2020 decision to bring back certain beauty filters on Instagram. Internal feedback indicated that the filters were linked to increased body image issues, particularly among young girls. Despite those findings, the company allegedly reinstated the filters over concerns that removing them would hurt growth or drive users to competing platforms.
Plaintiffs argue that this decision is part of a wider pattern—one in which safety is considered only after weighing its impact on user activity. They claim this approach has contributed to rising body image concerns, increased self-comparison, and an environment in which young users are exposed to more pressure and risk.
Meta Pushes Back Against the Allegations
Meta has rejected the lawsuit’s characterization of its internal practices. A company spokesperson told The Verge that the allegations rely on selectively quoted material and misinterpretations that paint an incomplete picture. Meta maintains that it has spent years improving teen safety, rolling out new protections, and giving parents more control over how their children use its platforms.
The company points to past updates such as introducing teen-specific safety settings and strengthening parental supervision tools. Meta says it has consistently worked with safety experts and researchers to refine its policies.
