New York City Mayor Eric Adams has announced that his administration has filed a lawsuit against a number of social media companies for causing a mental health crisis among young people. The list of companies being sued includes Meta (owner of Facebook and Instagram), Google (managing YouTube), Snap - the developer of the Snapchat application, and ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok.
The lawsuit, filed in California Superior Court, alleges that the companies intentionally designed their social media platforms "to manipulate and 'addict' children and teens to social media applications."
New York City Mayor Eric Adams says social media is a "toxic environment"
“Over the past decade, we have seen how overwhelming and addictive the online world can be, exposing our children to a constant stream of toxic information and fueling a national mental health crisis,” Adams said.
This isn’t the first time social media giants have been caught up in a similar lawsuit. They’ve come under scrutiny from regulators who have repeatedly urged them to protect children from harmful content online. Meta, TikTok, and YouTube have all been the subject of hundreds of lawsuits on behalf of children and schools for their addictive nature.
Just last month, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized to families at a hearing before the US House of Representatives for the impact social media has on children. A Meta spokesperson said the company wants teens to have “safe, age-appropriate experiences online”; while TikTok said it continues to work to keep its community safe by addressing industry challenges.
Alphabet, the parent company of both Google and YouTube, has denied the allegations. Jose Castaneda, a Google spokesperson, said: "We build our services and policies to provide an age-appropriate experience for young people and for parents to have strong control. The allegations in this complaint are untrue."
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