On Wednesday, the city of New York, along with its schools and public hospital system, filed a lawsuit against major tech companies including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube. They claim that these “addictive and dangerous” social media platforms are responsible for exacerbating a mental health crisis in children, causing disruptions in learning and draining resources.
According to the legal complaint, young individuals, due to their incomplete brain development, are particularly vulnerable to adverse effects from social media.
According to the 311-page filing in Superior Court in California, where the companies are based, a large number of young people have become heavily reliant on the platforms of the defendants.
According to the filing, the largest school district in the country, which has approximately 1 million students, has been facing challenges both inside and outside the classroom. These challenges include addressing disruptions, providing counseling for anxiety and depression, and creating educational materials on the impact of social media and online safety. The office of Mayor Eric Adams stated that the city allocates more than $100 million annually towards programs and services focused on youth mental health.
According to Adams, in the last ten years, they have witnessed the all-consuming and addictive nature of the internet, which has exposed their kids to a constant flow of damaging material and contributed to the ongoing crisis of mental health among youth.
A multitude of lawsuits have been filed by states, school districts, and other parties against social media companies, accusing them of exploiting children and teenagers through the intentional design of features that encourage constant scrolling and checking of their accounts. This legal action is just the most recent in this ongoing trend.
According to a recent lawsuit filed by the city of New York, its Department of Education, and New York City Health and Hospitals Corp., teenagers are aware that they use social media excessively but feel unable to stop. This lawsuit involves the country’s largest public hospital system.
The legal action aims to declare the behavior of the corporations as a public nuisance that needs to be stopped, and also requests for unspecified monetary compensation.
According to the submission, the technology corporations stated that they have been and are still working on creating and enforcing policies and measures that prioritize the safety of their users.
According to Jose Castañeda, a representative for Google, the accusations made in this complaint are completely false. He stated via email that the company has worked together with experts in youth, mental health, and parenting.
According to a statement, TikTok implements top-of-the-line measures to promote the welfare of teenagers, such as restricted features for certain age groups, parental controls, a 60-minute automatic time limit for users under 18, and other precautions.
According to the Pew Research Center, the vast majority of American teenagers utilize social media, with approximately 1 in 6 describing their usage of YouTube and TikTok as “nearly constant”.
According to a spokesperson from Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, their goal is to provide teenagers with safe and appropriate online experiences. They have implemented more than 30 tools and features to support both teens and their parents. Over the past ten years, they have focused on addressing these concerns and have hired individuals who are dedicated to ensuring the safety and well-being of young people online.
There has been no information if the State of Arizona or any additional states plans to join the lawsuit.
