New York City has launched a sweeping lawsuit against several of the world’s biggest tech companies, accusing them of fueling a youth mental health crisis by deliberately designing addictive social media platforms.
The 327-page legal filing targets the parent firms behind Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Google, and YouTube. It claims these companies knowingly engineered features that keep young users endlessly scrolling — leading to higher rates of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and low self-esteem.
According to the city, the platforms exploit children’s and teenagers’ psychological vulnerabilities to maximize engagement and profit. Features such as algorithm-driven “infinite feeds” and constant notifications are designed, the lawsuit alleges, to capture and hold attention — regardless of the emotional toll.
“Instead of feeding coins into slot machines, kids are feeding social media platforms with their time, attention, and data,” the city said in its statement.
The complaint accuses the companies of gross negligence and creating a public nuisance, arguing that they ignored years of research linking social media use to declining mental well-being. It seeks damages and demands accountability for what the city describes as an avoidable public health crisis.
This move adds New York City to a growing list of U.S. states, school districts, and parents taking legal action against social media companies for the same reason.
A spokesperson for Google, José Castañeda, rejected the claims, saying the lawsuits “fundamentally misunderstand how YouTube works.” He emphasized that YouTube is “a video-watching platform, not a social network where people go to catch up with friends.”
Other companies named in the lawsuit have not yet responded to media requests for comment.
Globally, concerns over social media’s impact on young people continue to mount. Earlier this week, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen proposed banning social media use for children under 15 — joining a growing movement across Europe pushing for stronger digital protections for minors.
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