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New York City has sued leading social media platforms as it alleged that they harm the mental health of the children. The state said in the lawsuit that Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, and Instagram are damaging the minds of kids and young adults in the city.
New York City further said that social media sites are fueling the mental health crisis of the youths. The state’s Mayor, Eric Adams, affirmed on Wednesday, Feb. 14, that its administration has taken legal action against the parent companies of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat, as per CNBC.
Filing of the Suit
Along with the city of New York, school districts and health organizations in the region filed the complaints as the plaintiffs in the Los Angeles County division of the California Superior Court. Lawyers explained they filed here because of the companies’ links to the territory.
The plaintiffs alleged that leading tech firms - Meta, ByteDance, Google, and Snap deliberately “designed, developed, produced, operated, promoted, distributed, and marketed their platforms to attract, capture, and addict youth, with minimal parental oversight.” With that, the group said the firms violated many city laws under public nuisance and gross negligence decrees by creating and marketing their addictive platforms.
“Over the past decade, we have seen just how addictive and overwhelming the online world can be, exposing our children to a non-stop stream of harmful content and fueling our national youth mental health crisis,” the mayor of NYC said in a statement during the lawsuit filing. “Today, we are taking bold action on behalf of millions of New Yorkers to hold these companies accountable for their role in this crisis, and we’re building on our work to address this public health hazard.”
NYC’s Efforts to Protect the Youths’ Mental Health
Finally, aside from the lawsuit, the city of New York devised an action plan to help shape the lives of the youngsters in the area. Associated Press News reported that the city has been spending more than $100 million on mental health programs for the youths. There are also services mainly designed for them every year as well.
Photo by: Igor Omilaev/Unsplash
