Parents Sue Meta, TikTok,โข Snapchat, google Alleging โฃPurposeful Harm to Youth
SAN FRANCISCO, CA โ- A lawsuit filed in the Northernโ District Court โคof Californiaโค accuses Meta (parent company of Facebook and Instagram), TikTok, Snapchat, and Google โ(owner of YouTube) of knowingly designing addictive featuresโ into their platforms that negatively impact โคthe mental health ofโ young โฃusers.โ The suit,โ brought by โparents, alleges the โขcompanies prioritized advertising revenue over โขthe well-being of adolescents, โand seeks a โjuryโ trial to determine responsibility for โthe alleged harm.
the complaint cites internal company documents, employee communications, and research studies as โคevidence. โA 2019 โคMeta-sponsored study conducted with Nielsen, inโฃ which users were asked to abstain from Facebook and Instagram for a month, reportedly showed โreduced anxiety and depression among those who paused use for even a week. Though, the project was โsubsequently suspended, promptingโ an internal discussion about potential negative publicity, with โone employee questioning if suppressing unfavorable โresults wouldโ mirror โฃthe tactics of tobacco โฃcompanies concealingโ research on โคthe dangersโ of cigarettes.
Further โevidence presented includesโ an internal Instagram message stating, “IG isโ a drug, we are basically dealers,” according to an exchange between Meta researchers. A TikTok reportโฃ acknowledged that “minors do not have the โexecutive mental function to control the time they spendโค in front of the screen.” โค
Plaintiffsโ allege the companies “deliberately incorporated design features into their platforms to โmaximize youth participation and thus generate advertising revenue.” They also question the effectiveness of digital safety tools, citing a tiktok employee’s description of โits “family โmatching” feature as “pretty useless” due to the ease with which teenagers could unlink their accounts from parental controls.
the โคcompanies have โคvehemently denied the โขallegations. Meta spokesperson โAndyโ stone stated, “We strongly disagree with these allegations, whichโ are based โขon selected quotes andโข uninformed opinions to presentโ a deliberately โmisleading image.” Stone claimsโ the 2019โ study was canceled due to issues with controlling participant expectations.
TikTok similarlyโ refuted the claims, stating in an email to CNN that the report “incorrectly rewrites our history and misleads the publicโฃ about ourโ commitment to youth safety.” Snapchat and Googleโ issued comparable statements, emphasizing โคtheir commitment to user safety and denying the core accusations. Snapchat โขstated its “safety and well-being of our community is our top priority,” โฃwhile Google told CNBC theโ lawsuit “fundamentally misunderstands how YouTube” operates and that the allegations are “simply not true.”
The lawsuit seeks to holdโข the companies accountableโฃ for the alleged โnegative impact of โtheirโข platforms on adolescents and school communities. The case marks a important escalationโ in the ongoing debate surroundingโค the responsibility of โขsocial media companies for the mental health of their young users.
