NYC sues social-media titans, seeking financial retribution for a youth mental-health crisis
City Hall showdown… New York City is suing the biggest social-media companies in a battle against swipe addiction among teens and kids. The suit, filed yesterday in a California superior court, alleges that TikTok, Meta, Snap, and YouTube exploit young users and cost the city $100M/year in mental-health services. The city’s hoping a court will find the platforms financially responsible for their role in the youth crisis.
Hot mic: Meta and TikTok replied, saying they have features and safeguards to address addictive behavior. Snap said its app is focused on connecting close friends and doesn’t open to a content feed.
Hot seat: This month, bipartisan lawmakers blasted the CEOs of Meta, TikTok, X, Snap, and Discord during a hearing on child safety, accusing them of fueling the mental-health crisis and not doing enough to prevent online child sexual exploitation.
Doom-scrolling disaster… More than half of US teens spend at least four hours a day on social media — with 15% saying they use TikTok “almost constantly.” The Surgeon General has warned that exposure to harmful content can cause anxiety and depression in young people. Lawmakers have had enough: in October, 40+ states sued Meta, accusing it of designing addictive features. Florida and Virginia proposed TikTok bans for kids, but have faced opposition from those who say it could overstep states’ rights and violate free speech. Montana passed a TikTok ban, but a judge blocked it.
Small shields can be big blockers… Despite rising scrutiny and stacked-up lawsuits, holding social platforms legally accountable is tough because of protections that give them immunity from being liable for users’ posts (see: Section 230). But pressure’s mounting: yesterday the Senate secured 60+ backers for its Kids Online Safety Act, which, if passed, would be the first major child online safety measure to clear a congressional chamber in decades.