Statement from Attorney General James and Governor Hochul on Instagram Announcement

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Kathy Hochul today released the following joint statement in response to the announcement that Instagram, owned by Meta, would be making changes for underage account holders, including privacy settings and overnight notifications. The changes follow New York’s historic legislation to empower the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to implement rules to protect children online and address addictive feeds used by social media companies, including Meta:

“Our kids are facing a mental health crisis fueled by addictive social media feeds – and the changes announced today by Instagram are proof that New York’s nation-leading laws are already making a powerful impact to protect kids online.

“In June, we enacted the SAFE for Kids Act – our first-in-the-nation law to restrict addictive feeds and stop late-night notifications for minors in New York. Just three months later, Instagram said it will shut down late-night notifications for all minors nationwide, along with creating more supervision tools for parents. By taking strong and decisive action, New York has helped ensure that millions more kids across the nation will have greater protections.

“Let’s be clear – our fight to safeguard kids online is far from over, and Instagram’s announcement is just one step in the right direction. The SAFE for Kids Act will also combat addictive algorithms and our Child Data Protection Act will restrict online sites from collecting and selling our kids' data. Every social media platform – including Instagram – will need to play by these rules in New York, just as they should across the nation. We'll never stop fighting to protect kids – we look forward to continuing this vital work.”

The legislation advanced by Attorney General James, introduced by Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assemblymember Nily Rozic, and signed by Governor Hochul into law, provides for OAG to draft rules that will better protect children’s online privacy, and take action against addictive algorithmic feeds being utilized for social media accounts of underage users. The SAFE for Kids Act, which was the first bill of its kind signed into law throughout the United States, will require social media companies to restrict addictive feeds on their platforms for users under 18, as well as overnight notifications, unless parental consent is granted. The New York Child Data Protection Act will prohibit online sites from collecting, using, sharing or selling personal data of anyone under the age of 18, unless they receive informed consent or unless doing so is strictly necessary for the purpose of the website. It also authorizes OAG to enforce the law and seek damages or civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation. Both laws will take effect once the rulemaking process underway by OAG is completed.

Attorney General James has been a national leader in the fight to protect Americans, especially young adults, online and to address concerns with social media companies. Earlier this month, Attorney General James led a bipartisan coalition of 42 attorneys general in urging Congress to implement warning labels on social media platforms as called for by the United States Surgeon General. In August 2024, Attorney General James issued two advanced notices of proposed rulemaking to provide parents, children, advocates, social media companies, and tech industry professionals with the opportunity to submit comments, suggestions, information, and data about the rules that OAG is charged with creating to protect New York children online. In March 2024, Attorney General James led a bipartisan coalition of 41 attorneys general in urging Meta to address the rise of Facebook and Instagram account takeovers by scammers and frauds. In October 2023, Attorney General James and a bipartisan coalition of 32 attorneys general filed a federal lawsuit against Meta for harming young people’s mental health and contributing to the youth mental health crisis. In May 2021, Attorney General James joined a bipartisan coalition of 44 attorneys general urging Facebook to abandon plans to launch a version of Instagram for children under the age of 13.