Mental Health: Lawsuits increase against social media companies

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Social media companies are increasingly being blamed for historically high rates of depression, suicidality and other mental health issues in youths. And now, states and local governments are increasingly pursuing legislation and legal action.
Utah just passed a law limiting social media for minors and school districts in Seattle and San Mateo County, California, are suing leading platforms, charging they’re delivering harmful content to kids.
It comes just as Congress ratcheted up pressure for a ban on TikTok for, among other things, the harmful impact it’s had on kids.
The Biden administration’s surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, weighed in last month, telling CNN that age 13 is “too early” for kids to join social media.
“Multiple juries are in. They’re all reaching the same conclusion,” Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist at New York University Stern School of Business told the Financial Times. “When social media or high-speed internet came in, [studies] all find the same story which is mental health plummets, especially for girls.”
Multiple studies—including some of the companies’ own internal research—have linked social media use with increased depression among teens.
A December report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate which focused on TikTok found the platform began recommending eating disorder and self-harm content to new teen accounts within eight minutes of use.
Research published by the American Psychological Association last month found teens and young adults who cut social media use by 50% for a few weeks saw significant improvement in how they felt about both their weight and their overall appearance compared with their peers.
There are nearly 150 product liability lawsuits filed in the U.S. against the social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube, per the Financial Times.

Members of Congress have promised further regulation of social media companies, and last month, Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) introduced a bill to ban social media use for kids younger than 16.
Many of the suits are built around concern about the way platforms feed targeted content to keep kids online longer, fueling negative self-image, exposing them to self-harm content and enabling bullying.