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New York Mayor Eric Adams has initiated a lawsuit against five prominent social media platforms, accusing them of contributing to the youth mental health crisis in the nation.
Filed in California, the City of New York targets Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Snap (Snapchat), ByteDance (TikTok), and Google (YouTube), demanding they be held accountable for their impact on children’s mental health. Adams pointed out the addictive nature of these platforms, stating, “Over the past decade, we have seen just how addictive and overwhelming the online world can be, exposing our children to a non-stop stream of harmful content.”
The lawsuit seeks to compel these tech giants to amend their practices and reimburse the city for over $100 million spent annually on youth mental health programs. Highlighting the situation’s urgency, Adams said, “Today, we’re taking bold action on behalf of millions of New Yorkers to hold these companies accountable for their role in this crisis, and we’re building on our work to address this public health hazard. This lawsuit and action plan are part of a larger reckoning that will shape the lives of our young people, our city, and our society for years to come.” The 305-page complaint outlines various allegations, accusing the companies of deliberately targeting school-aged children and engineering their platforms to be addictive with minimal parental oversight.
In defense, the accused companies have largely pushed back on the lawsuit’s claims. Here’s what they’ve said:
Google’s spokesman, José Castañeda, said, “Providing young people with a safer, healthier experience online has always been core to our work. In collaboration with youth, mental health and parenting experts, we’ve built services and policies to give young people age-appropriate experiences, and parents robust controls. The allegations in this complaint are simply not true.”
A Meta spokesperson said, “We want teens to have safe, age-appropriate experiences online, and we have over 30 tools and features to support them and their parents. We’ve spent a decade working on these issues and hiring people who have dedicated their careers to keeping young people safe and supported online.”
A Snapchat spokesperson said in a statement, “Snapchat was intentionally designed to be different from traditional social media, with a focus on helping Snapchatters communicate with their close friends. Snapchat opens directly to a camera – rather than a feed of content that encourages passive scrolling – and has no traditional public likes or comments. While we will always have more work to do, we feel good about the role Snapchat plays in helping close friends feel connected, happy and prepared as they face the many challenges of adolescence.”
A TikTok spokesman said, “TikTok has industry-leading safeguards to support teens’ well-being, including age-restricted features, parental controls, an automatic 60-minute time limit for users under 18, and more. We regularly partner with experts to understand emerging best practices, and will continue to work to keep our community safe by tackling industry-wide challenges.”
