Social media companies in the US brace to battle onslaught of legal challenges

The lawsuits take aim at how social media apps and their algorithms negatively affect the youth. Photograph: Chesnot/Getty Images

Social media companies in the United States are bracing themselves to battle an onslaught of new state and federal legislation and legal challenges with far-reaching regulatory implications this year.

The majority of US state legislatures have introduced or passed bills attempting to reform how social media giants moderate their content and increase security measures for American users.