The city sued the companies that operate SnapChat, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
New York City on Wednesday sued the companies behind SnapChat, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok for contributing to a “national youth mental health crisis” by exposing children to a “constant stream of harmful content.” .
The lawsuit, filed in California Superior Court, alleged that the companies deliberately designed their platforms to manipulate children and teens into becoming addicted to social media applications. The lawsuit points to the use of algorithms to generate feeds that keep users on the platform longer and encourage compulsive use.
“Young people are now addicted to defendants’ platforms en masse, resulting in significant interference with school district operations and placing a significant burden on cities, school districts, and public hospital systems that provide mental health services to young people.” ,” the complaint states. “Although Defendants’ platforms are described as ‘social,’ they have fostered disconnection and segregation in myriad ways, resulting in numerous psychological and physical harms.”
The lawsuit accused social media companies of manipulating users by making them feel like they had to respond to one positive action with another.
SnapChat addressed the lawsuit in a statement and denied the allegations.
“Snapchat is intentionally designed to be different from traditional social media, with a focus on allowing Snapchatters to communicate with their closest friends. With direct access to the camera rather than a feed, traditional public likes and things to do will always be there, close friends who face the many challenges of adolescence can feel connected, happy, and prepared. “We’re pleased with the role Snapchat plays in helping us make this happen,” spokesperson Ashley Adams said in a statement. For Snap Inc., it says:
TikTok also responded to the city’s lawsuit. “TikTok has industry-leading safeguards to support teen health, including age-restricted features, parental controls, and an automatic 60-minute time limit for users under 18. “We regularly partner with experts to understand emerging best practices, and we remain committed to addressing industry-wide challenges and keeping our community safe,” a TikTok spokesperson said. .
Meta, which owns Instagram, said the safety of teens is its top priority. “We want to provide teens with a safe and age-appropriate online experience, and we have more than 30 tools and features to support them and their parents. We’ve spent 10 years tackling these issues and hiring people who have dedicated their careers to keeping people young. People are safe and supported online,” a company spokesperson said. .
“Providing young people with safer and healthier experiences online has always been at the core of our work. Working with youth, mental health and parenting experts, we provide young people with age-appropriate support. “We have built services and policies that provide a unique experience and provide parents with robust controls. The allegations in this complaint are completely untrue,” said Google spokesperson Jose Castañeda.
“These platforms take advantage of reciprocity by, for example, automatically notifying senders when a message has been viewed or sending notifications when a message is delivered, and “[t]he users are encouraged to return to the platform again and again, perpetuating online engagement and immediate responses,” the lawsuit said.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said, “Over the past decade, we have witnessed how addictive and overwhelming the online world has become, exposing our children to a constant stream of harmful content and increasing the number of cases nationwide. “This is fueling a mental health crisis among young people.” “Our cities are built on innovation and technology, but many social media platforms end up endangering children’s mental health, fostering addiction, and encouraging risky behaviors.” It will be.”
He said the city spends a lot of money trying to address student mental health issues and is suing to recover some of that money.
“New York City Plaintiffs have incurred and will continue to incur costs associated with addressing the youth mental health crisis that Defendants caused, caused, contributed to, and sustained. “They seek relief for the damages and injuries they have sustained, including actual and compensatory damages,” the lawsuit states. “The amount of damages will be determined at trial.”
