New York City filed a lawsuit against TikTok, Meta, Snap and Google’s YouTube to hold the companies accountable for fueling the nationwide youth mental health crisis.
In addition to the lawsuit, Mayor Adams has shared a “social media action plan” that will hold these platforms accountable for the harm they cause to children’s mental health, educate families about safe social media use, and examine the impact of social media on young people.
Several city agencies, including NYC’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Department of Education has taken legal action against social media platforms such as Meta, TikTok, Snap, and Google, claiming that they are adversely impacting the mental health of the city’s youth.
According to The Verge, NYC Mayor Eric Adams asserts that these platforms are fostering a dependency among young people through features like recommendations, likes, and algorithms, thereby encouraging excessive online engagement.
In their lawsuit, New York institutions and officials point out that these platforms are causing public disturbance and harming the mental well-being of young individuals.
Social Media Action Plan
In addition to the lawsuit, Mayor Adams has shared a “social media action plan” that will hold these platforms accountable for the harm they cause to children’s mental health, educate families about safe social media use, and examine the impact of social media on young people.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement, pointing to features like parental supervision tools and notifications suggesting social media breaks.
A Snap spokesperson drew differences between Snapchat and other social media platforms in a statement, saying the app was “intentionally designed to be different from traditional social media, with a focus on helping Snapchatters communicate with their close friends.”
A TikTok spokesperson pointed to what it called the app’s “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.”
Google spokesperson José Castañeda called the NYC allegations “simply not true.”
“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,” Castañeda added in a statement.