Lush, the bath bomb and cosmetic company announced on November 24 that they would be deactivating their Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Snapchat accounts two days later, on Black Friday. In a statement on their website, Lush explained the decision was influenced by safety concerns about social media use, and their frustration that the platforms are not taking actions about the mental health issues that can be caused or exacerbated by social media.
ADVERTISEMENT In October, former Facebook employee Frances Haugen gave three hours of testimony to the Senate Commerce subcommittee about the inner workings of Facebook. Haugen had leaked thousands of pages of research to The Wall Street Journal, and shared with the subcommittee that the company was hiding research about the platform’s impact on teenagers, and its willingness to host and share hateful and sometimes dangerous content, as long as it continued to keep users engaged.
“I’m here today because I believe Facebook’s products harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy,” Haugen said. “The company’s leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer but won’t make the necessary changes.” Haugen called on elected officials to regulate the social media giant, a move other countries have already started. In June, Norway passed a law against using PhotoShop or filters on social media unless explicitly stated.
Lush has the advantage of being a company with nearly 1,000 stores worldwide, they can probably sleep soundly knowing that Instagram users will continue sharing Stories about bath bombs, doing social media legwork for them. In January 2021 luxury brand Bottega Veneta deleted their Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter without fanfare or explanation.