New York City has filed a 327-page lawsuit in federal court against all the major social media companies, alleging they have driven children into a mental health crisis. They join a growing list of civic authorities nationwide bringing similar suits. So far, about 2,050 similar lawsuits are working their way through the court system.
The city declared in its lawsuit, “Defendants should be held to account for the harms their conduct has inflicted. As it stands now, [the] plaintiffs are left to abate the nuisance and foot the bill.”
NYC sues social media giants for allegedly addicting children
from www.aljazeera.com
New York City has filed a lawsuit accusing Facebook, Google, Snapchat, TikTok and other online platforms of fuelling a mental health crisis among children by addicting them to social media.
The 327-page complaint filed on Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan seeks damages from Facebook and Instagram owner Meta Platforms, Google and YouTube owner Alphabet, Snapchat owner Snap and TikTok owner ByteDance. It accused the defendants of gross negligence and causing a public nuisance.
The city joined other governments, school districts and individuals pursuing about 2,050 similar lawsuits in nationwide litigation in the Oakland, California, federal court.
New York City is among the largest plaintiffs with a population of 8.48 million, including about 1.8 million under age 18. Its school and healthcare systems are also plaintiffs.
Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said allegations concerning YouTube are “simply not true”, in part because it is a streaming service and not a social network where people catch up with friends.
