New York City has filed a major lawsuit against social media companies YouTube, TikTok, Meta, and Snapchat. The city says these companies are creating a mental health crisis among young people by making their platforms addictive on purpose. The 327-page complaint, filed on October 8 in Manhattan federal court, says the companies use young people’s emotions to keep them hooked and make more money.
The lawsuit is one of the biggest legal actions a major U.S. city has taken against social media platforms. New York City has 8.48 million people, and about 1.8 million of them are under 18 years old. The city is joining about 2,050 similar cases across the country. The city’s school system and public hospitals are also part of the lawsuit.
