America's largest city sues TikTok, Facebook, YouTube

On February 14th, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that his administration had filed lawsuits against the parent companies of TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube, alleging that their services are harming the mental health of young people and children in America's largest city.

The lawyers wrote in the lawsuit that New York City, along with plaintiffs including school districts and healthcare organizations, filed the lawsuit in the Los Angeles County branch of the California Superior Court, regarding the companies' relationship with the area.

TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube are being sued by New York City for allegedly harming the mental health of children. (Photo: Bay City News)

The lawsuit alleges that Meta, Snapchat, ByteDance, and Google (whose parent company is Alphabet) intentionally “designed, developed, manufactured, operated, promoted, distributed, and marketed their platforms to attract and engage young people without minimal parental supervision.”

The plaintiffs allege that the aforementioned technology companies violated several New York City laws relating to serious public nuisance and negligence through the design and marketing of addictive technology products. According to the city, New York's school districts and various social and health services have been severely impacted by children suffering negative mental health consequences from the use of popular social media applications.

Eric Adams said in a statement: “ Over the past decade, we have seen how addictive and overwhelming the online world can become, exposing our children to a relentless stream of toxic content and causing a mental health crisis for our nation’s youth. Today, we are taking bold action on behalf of millions of New Yorkers to hold these companies accountable for their role in this crisis, and we are continuing our efforts to address this public health hazard .”

Eric Adams also argued that this lawsuit and action plan are part of a larger scheme that will reshape the lives of young people, the city, and New York society for years to come.

A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the company has industry-leading protections for teens, including parental controls and age-restricted features. A Google representative said the allegations are “simply not true.”

HUYNH DUNG (Source: CNBC)

Source: https://vtc.vn/thanh-pho-lon-nhat-nuoc-my-khoi-kien-tiktok-facebook-youtube-ar853260.html