Newsletter
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced on Wednesday that the city filed a lawsuit against TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube for their “damaging influence on the mental health of children.”
The City of New York, the New York Department of Education, and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation have jointly filed the lawsuit with the California Superior Court. The lawsuit alleges that social media companies intentionally design their apps to be as addictive as possible to teens. The city officials also blame social platforms for children’s poor school performance.
“Our city is built on innovation and technology,” said Mayor Adams. “But many social media platforms end up endangering our children’s mental health, promoting addiction, and encouraging unsafe behavior.”
The plaintiffs also demand that social platforms change their behavior and compensate for their damaging impact on public health. The state of New York claims it spends over $100 million on youth mental health programs and services a year.
Social platforms respond to the New York City allegations
Meanwhile, all social platforms in the New York City lawsuit responded to the allegations and emphasized their firm will to protect children. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told Axios that the company has “spent a decade working on these issues and hiring people who have dedicated their careers to keeping young people safe and supported online.”
Google spokesperson José Castañeda said the tech firm is working with youth, mental health, and parenting experts to provide its youth users with age-appropriate experiences. TikTok and Snapchat also alluded to their parental tools and procedures to keep children safe.
US might need federal laws to protect public mental health on social media
The declining youth mental health and social media’s impact on making it worse is a hot topic of debate among US lawmakers. Back in November, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to assess the impact of social media on teen mental health. The Senate also held a hearing for Meta, TikTok, Snap, Discord, and X (formerly Twitter) CEOs in January to discuss kids’ mental health on social media.
There is no federal law yet to protect children’s mental health in online environments. As a result, filing lawsuits is the only remaining way for states to keep social media companies accountable.