Press ReleaseNeutral2026-05-01

Blackburn, Klobuchar Sound the Alarm on Meta Removing Ads for Social Media Addiction Litigation from Its Platforms

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This press release from Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) was published on 2026-05-01 and titled "Blackburn, Klobuchar Sound the Alarm on Meta Removing Ads for Social Media Addiction Litigation from Its Platforms". It focuses on foreign policy and touches on technology.

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Blackburn, Klobuchar Sound the Alarm on Meta Removing Ads for Social Media Addiction Litigation from Its Platforms

U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg regarding disturbing new reporting about Meta's continued efforts to silence parents and stonewall action to protect children from online harm on its platforms. Earlier this month, Meta began removing advertisements from attorneys seeking clients that claim they were harmed by social media as minors following the landmark verdicts in New Mexico and California. As Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, the Senators plan to examine Meta's blatant attempt to preserve their business model at all costs in their subcommittee. Meta Removed Ads from Lawyers Willing to Assist Clients Harmed by Social Media as Minors "In the wake of landmark verdicts handed down last month that found Meta liable for negligence in its platform's design, it was reported that Meta began removing advertisements from attorneys seeking clients who allege that they were harmed by your platform while they were minors. It is unfortunate that rather than addressing the dangerous design of its platforms, Meta is instead attempting to dodge additional accountability for its failure to protect children online. Specifically, over a dozen advertisements that ran on Facebook and Instagram were deactivated, including one ad that read 'Anxiety. Depression. Withdrawal. Self-harm. These aren't just teenage phases - they're symptoms linked to social media addiction in children. Platforms knew this and kept targeting kids anyway.' Meta's own internal research has confirmed exactly what the ad conveyed - that Meta's social media platforms cause increased anxiety, depression, and self-harm. And these ads did not violate Meta's Advertising Standards. Their removal is nothing more than an attempt to preserve a harmful business model at all costs - one that actively profits off the addiction of this nation's youth - and reduce financial exposure for the harm Meta has caused to minors across the country." Any Assertion Meta Removed These Ads to Protect Users Is a Lie "There is no other justification for the removal of ads highlighting the potential harms caused by your platforms. In fact, Meta's actions expressly conflict with its recent policy changes to 'allow more speech' and to stop removing or demoting content, except in the most extreme circumstances. Any assertion that the removal of these ads was intended to somehow protect users is clearly pretextual because Meta frequently displays and profits from ads for scams and banned goods. In 2024, Meta estimated that 10% of its revenue would come from such ads. Meta internally estimated that its platforms show users 15 billion scam ads a day. That Meta makes billions of dollars from fraudulent ads makes clear that Meta is removing these ads only to protect its bottom line." Courts Have Punished Past Harms, and Congress Must Now Prevent Future Harms on Meta's Platforms "In the absence of Congress's passage of legislation to protect users, including the Senate's Kids Online Safety Act, children and parents have stepped in to fill this void and have taken significant steps to hold Big Tech accountable for the harms that their platforms have perpetrated on our young people. While we are glad that courts are beginning to hold Meta accountable for its conduct, the systemic change that parents demand and our children deserve must come from Congress and we will not stop until Congress takes decisive action to protect our children from harms that continue to occur across the internet, including on Meta's platform. The courts can punish past harms, but it is ultimately up to Congress to prevent future ones. As Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law, we look forward to examining these issues more closely in the near future." Click here to read the full letter. RELATED Blackburn Statement on Landmark Social Media Addiction Case Verdict Blackburn, Blumenthal, Thune, and Schumer Introduce the Kids Online Safety Act

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Blackburn, Klobuchar Sound the Alarm on Meta Removing Ads for Social Media Addiction Litigation from Its Platforms U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg regarding disturbing new reporting about Meta's continued efforts to silence parents and stonewall action to protect children from online harm on its platforms. Earlier this month, Meta began removing advertisements from attorneys seeking clients that claim they were harmed by social media as minors following the landmark verdicts in New Mexico and California. As Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, the Senators plan to examine Meta's blatant attempt to preserve their business model at all costs in their subcommittee. Meta Removed Ads from Lawyers Willing to Assist Clients Harmed by Social Media as Minors "In the wake of landmark verdicts handed down last month that found Meta liable for negligence in its platform's design, it was reported that Meta began removing advertisements from attorneys seeking clients who allege that they were harmed by your platform while they were minors. It is unfortunate that rather than addressing the dangerous design of its platforms, Meta is instead attempting to dodge additional accountability for its failure to protect children online. Specifically, over a dozen advertisements that ran on Facebook and Instagram were deactivated, including one ad that read 'Anxiety. Depression. Withdrawal. Self-harm. These aren't just teenage phases - they're symptoms linked to social media addiction in children. Platforms knew this and kept targeting kids anyway.' Meta's own internal research has confirmed exactly what the ad conveyed - that Meta's social media platforms cause increased anxiety, depression, and self-harm. And these ads did not violate Meta's Advertising Standards. Their removal is nothing more than an attempt to preserve a harmful business model at all costs - one that actively profits off the addiction of this nation's youth - and reduce financial exposure for the harm Meta has caused to minors across the country." Any Assertion Meta Removed These Ads to Protect Users Is a Lie "There is no other justification for the removal of ads highlighting the potential harms caused by your platforms. In fact, Meta's actions expressly conflict with its recent policy changes to 'allow more speech' and to stop removing or demoting content, except in the most extreme circumstances. Any assertion that the removal of these ads was intended to somehow protect users is clearly pretextual because Meta frequently displays and profits from ads for scams and banned goods. In 2024, Meta estimated that 10% of its revenue would come from such ads. Meta internally estimated that its platforms show users 15 billion scam ads a day. That Meta makes billions of dollars from fraudulent ads makes clear that Meta is removing these ads only to protect its bottom line." Courts Have Punished Past Harms, and Congress Must Now Prevent Future Harms on Meta's Platforms "In the absence of Congress's passage of legislation to protect users, including the Senate's Kids Online Safety Act, children and parents have stepped in to fill this void and have taken significant steps to hold Big Tech accountable for the harms that their platforms have perpetrated on our young people. While we are glad that courts are beginning to hold Meta accountable for its conduct, the systemic change that parents demand and our children deserve must come from Congress and we will not stop until Congress takes decisive action to protect our children from harms that continue to occur across the internet, including on Meta's platform. The courts can punish past harms, but it is ultimately up to Congress to prevent future ones. As Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law, we look forward to examining these issues more closely in the near future." Click here to read the full letter. RELATED Blackburn Statement on Landmark Social Media Addiction Case Verdict Blackburn, Blumenthal, Thune, and Schumer Introduce the Kids Online Safety Act