(Reuters) – New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced on Wednesday that his administration has filed a lawsuit against social media companies including Meta Platforms Inc.'s Facebook and Instagram for fueling a youth mental health crisis. .
The lawsuit, filed in California Superior Court, also includes Alphabet's YouTube, Snap Inc's Snapchat and ByteDance's TikTok, alleging that the companies “intentionally harass children and teens. It alleges that the platform was intentionally designed to “manipulate and make people addicted to social media applications.”
Meta, TikTok, and YouTube already face hundreds of lawsuits filed on behalf of children and school districts over the addictive nature of social media.
“Over the past decade, we have seen how addictive and overwhelming the online world has become, exposing children to a constant stream of harmful content and increasing the number of youth deaths nationwide,” Adams said in a statement. “It's fueling a mental health crisis.”
Social media companies are under intense scrutiny as regulators seek to protect children from harmful content.
Last month, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized to families for the impact social media has on children during a U.S. Senate hearing.
A Meta spokesperson said the company wants teens to have a “safe and age-appropriate online experience,” but TikTok is keeping its community safe by addressing industry-wide challenges. He said he will continue to make efforts to do so.
(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
