The plaintiffs allege that the tech companies violated several city laws related to public nuisance and gross negligence through the design and marketing of their addictive products.
“Over the past decade, we have seen just how addictive and overwhelming the online world can be, exposing our children to a non-stop stream of harmful content and fueling our national youth mental health crisis,” Adams said in a statement.
“Today, we’re taking bold action on behalf of millions of New Yorkers to hold these companies accountable for their role in this crisis, and we’re building on our work to address this public health hazard.
New York’s lawsuit echoes similar allegations made against Meta, Snap, TikTok and Alphabet in litigation filed in 2022 in the Northern District of California.
Multiple school districts and individuals claim the companies’ products “are defective because they are designed to maximize screen time” and that they have resulted in various emotional and physical harms, including death.”
Social media companies have come under fire from lawmakers who are pushing multiple bills like the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, as part of a broader appeal for regulation.
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