Scarborough Likens Facebook to ‘Big Tobacco’ — ‘They Know Their Product Is Damaging People,’ ‘Causing People to Kill Themselves’

MSNBC “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough on Wednesday reacted to a Wall Street Journal report saying social media giant Facebook was aware its Instagram platform was bad for teenagers.

Scarborough said Facebook reminded him of “big tobacco” because the tech company “knows their product is damaging people” and that “it’s causing people to kill themselves.” The former Florida congressman, noting the platform is doing nothing about the damage it’s doing to young people, questioned why there “is one rule for Facebook and one rule for the rest of us.”

“I have seen one story after another story after another story talking about how Instagram leads to anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation among our teenage girls,” Scarborough emphasized. “And I started saying to Mika five years ago: Facebook reminds me of big tobacco. They know their product is damaging people. They know it’s causing people to kill themselves. They know it’s causing depression and anxiety, and they’re really not doing anything about it.”

“And I guess the question is, just like the question on why they can let people be slandered and publish lies that kill people, I guess the question is why is there one rule for Facebook and one rule for the rest of us?” he added.

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent