NYC Sues 5 Social Media Giants Over 'Youth Mental Health Crisis'

NEW YORK CITY — TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and Facebook have stoked a mental health crisis among New York City's youth that costs taxpayers $100 million a year, Mayor Eric Adams said.

Adams unveiled a sprawling lawsuit Wednesday against the five social media giants that blames the companies for a rise in depression, misinformation, reckless behavior, suicidal thoughts and beyond among youngsters.

The lawsuit filed in a Los Angeles court dovetails with health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan's recent advisory that declared social media a public health hazard.

"New York is the first major American city to take combined steps of this magnitude to call out the danger of social media clearly and directly, just as the surgeon general did with tobacco and guns," he said.

Adams is a self-professed technophile, but he has increasingly blasted social media companies for amplifying media he contends have inspired subway surfing, car thefts and even shootings.

He went further during his address Wednesday, contending that the bad effects of social media have led to a youth mental health crisis that costs the city $100 million a year.

The 305-page lawsuit likewise argues the five Big Tech giants purposely manipulated and addicted children and teens to their social media platforms, without regard to the negative impacts on youths.

"This lawsuit follows a growing body of scientific research, including Defendants' own (previously concealed) studies, drawing a direct line from Defendants' conscious, intentional design choices to the youth mental health crisis gripping our nation," the lawsuit states.

"Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube have rewired how youth think, learn, feel, and behave. Disconnected 'Likes' have replaced the intimacy of adolescent friendships. Mindless scrolling has displaced the creativity of play and sport. While presented as 'social,' Defendants' platforms have in a myriad of ways promoted disconnection, disassociation, and a legion of resulting mental and physical harms."

The lawsuit doesn't seek specific damages other than "millions of dollars resulting from this public nuisance," to be determined at trial.

Vasan said the lawsuit's ultimate aim is to get social media companies to change bad practices that harm youths' mental health.

"No one is talking about a ban here," he said. "No one is talking about taking, snatching away devices or snatching away platforms.

"We're talking about a fundamental set of rules and regulation, and sometimes litigation is the way we have to go about it."