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Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) faces the ire of scores of state attorneys general due to a sizable increase in hacked accounts on Facebook and Instagram.
“Our offices have experienced a dramatic and persistent spike in complaints in recent years concerning account takeovers that is not only alarming for our constituents but also a substantial drain on our office resources,” the attorneys general wrote in a letter dated March 5 to Jennifer Newstead, Meta’s chief legal officer.
The letter was endorsed by 40 U.S. state attorneys general, and urged Meta to take action to mitigate the “dramatic increase in user account takeovers.”
Meta has not yet responded to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha.
While a Facebook or Instagram account being hacked is not new, the state AGs contend it has gotten significantly worse since “Meta announced a massive layoff of around 11,000 employees in November 2022, which reportedly focused on the ‘security and privacy and integrity sector.'”
For example, the office of Vermont’s attorney general saw a 740% increase in complaints filed there from 2022 to 2023. North Carolina reported a 330% leap while Pennsylvania’s jumped 270% over the same time frame.
Meta is currently facing a lawsuit over concerns that Instagram and Facebook exploit young people for profit and feed them harmful and addictive content. The suit was filed last October in a California federal court on behalf of dozens of states.
Legal actions against social media companies continue to stack up. Meta, Snap (SNAP), TikTok (BDNCE) and Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) face hundreds of suits claiming they are to blame for adolescents suffering anxiety, depression, eating disorders and sleeplessness as a result of their addiction to social media.
In December, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez filed a lawsuit against Meta to protect children from sexual abuse, online solicitation and human trafficking.
Meta shares crept up 1% during late afternoon trading Wednesday.