New York City has filed a sweeping lawsuit against major social media companies, accusing them of fueling a youth mental health crisis by intentionally designing addictive features that target children and teenagers.
The 327-page complaint, filed in Manhattan federal court, names the parent companies of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Google, and YouTube. It alleges that the firms knowingly created platforms engineered to capture and hold users’ attention, despite being aware of the negative psychological effects on younger audiences.
According to the city, social media giants built their platforms around “algorithmically-driven endless feeds” and “incessant notifications,” which encourage compulsive use and prevent users from disconnecting. These design features, the lawsuit claims, have contributed to rising rates of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and low self-esteem among young people.
“Instead of feeding coins into slot machines, kids are feeding social media platforms with an endless supply of attention, time, and data,” the lawsuit stated. It argues that companies prioritized profits over public health, deliberately exploiting the vulnerabilities of children and teenagers to maximize engagement and advertising revenue.
The city also accuses the companies of ignoring mounting evidence linking heavy social media use to mental health harms. “The defendants have long been aware of research connecting use of their apps with harm to their users’ well-being but chose to ignore or brush it off,” the filing said.
The lawsuit seeks damages and claims the companies acted with gross negligence and created a public nuisance. It adds to a growing number of legal challenges brought by U.S. state governments, school districts, and advocacy groups over the impact of social media on young users.
Google spokesperson José Castañeda rejected the allegations, telling Euronews Next that the case “fundamentally misunderstands how YouTube works.” He described YouTube as “a platform for watching videos, not a social network where people go to catch up with friends.” Other companies named in the lawsuit, including Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The case comes amid intensifying global scrutiny of social media’s effects on young people. Policymakers in several countries have called for tighter regulation, with Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen recently proposing a ban on social media use for children under 15.
New York City officials say the lawsuit is intended to hold tech companies accountable for what they describe as a “systemic assault on the mental health of a generation.” They argue that while social media has become deeply embedded in modern life, its design should not come at the expense of children’s well-being.
