New York City Sues Social Media Giants for Harming Children
New York City is suing Facebook, Google, Snapchat, TikTok, and other online companies for allegedly contributing to a mental health crisis among children by making them dependent on social media.
A 327-page complaint filed in a Manhattan federal court on Wednesday demands damages from the owners of Facebook and Instagram, Google and YouTube (Alphabet), Snapchat (Snapchat, opens new tab), and TikTok (ByteDance). It charges the accused with generating a public nuisance and egregious carelessness.
The city joined a worldwide lawsuit in a federal court in Oakland, California, with other governments, school districts, and people pursuing over 2,050 identical claims.
Among the biggest litigants is New York City, which has 8.48 million residents, including roughly 1.8 million under the age of 18. The plaintiffs also include their healthcare and educational systems.
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Google Responds to Allegations Against Social Media Platforms
Claims about YouTube are “simply not true,” according to Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda, in part because the platform is a streaming service rather than a social network where users can meet up with friends.
Requests for comment from the other accused were not immediately answered.
For the city to join the federal litigation, it withdrew from lawsuits that Mayor Eric Adams had launched in February 2024 and that were still proceeding in California state courts, according to a spokesman for the city’s law department.
Defendants accused of obsessive Subway browsing
Social Media Impact on Youth Behavior and Mental Health
The defendants created their platforms to “exploit the psychology and neurophysiology of youth,” promoting compulsive use in an effort to make money, according to the lawsuit filed on Wednesday.
According to the complaint, 77.3% of high school students in New York City and 82.1% of girls acknowledged that they spend three or more hours a day on “screen time,” which includes using computers, TVs, and smartphones. This leads to sleep deprivation and frequent absences from school.
According to the complaint, the city, including its schools, had to spend additional taxpayer resources to handle the ensuing child mental health problem when New York City’s health commissioner deemed social media to be a public health threat in January 2024.
The rise in “subway surfing,” or riding on top of or over the sides of moving trains, was also attributed by the city to social media. Police data shows that since 2023, at least 16 subway surfers have perished, including two girls last month who were 12 and 13.
“Defendants should be brought to account for the damages their conduct has inflicted,” said the municipality. “As it stands now, the claimants are left to abate the bother and foot the bill.”