UK-based Lush Cosmetics has ceased to make use of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat until the tech brands take actions to provide a safer environment for users, said the company in a press release.
“Having previously attempted this in 2019, our resolve has been strengthened by all the latest information from courageous whistleblowers, which clearly lays out the known harms that young people are exposed to because of the current algorithms and loose regulation of this new area of our lives,” explained the company.
The damage caused by Facebook in particular was recently highlighted when whistleblower Frances Haugen came forward to denounce her former employer.
“The thing I saw at Facebook over and over again was there were conflicts of interest between what was good for the public and what was good for Facebook,” Haugen told the press. “And Facebook, over and over again, chose to optimize for its own interests, like making more money.”
According to data obtained by the Wall Street Journal 6% of American teens with suicidal thoughts traced that inclination to Instagram.
“I’ve spent all my life avoiding putting harmful ingredients in my products,” said Lush Cosmetics Mark Constantine Obe, Co-Founder, CEO & Product Inventor. “There is now overwhelming evidence we are being put at risk when using social media. I’m not willing to expose my customers to this harm, so it’s time to take it out of the mix.”
