Seattle public schools have sued the social media giants for “business models that hurt youth.”
The social networking giants are under the eye of educational authorities in the United States, accusing them of “creating a mental health crisis in America’s youth.”
Seattle Public Schools filed a lawsuit Friday targeting the companies behind Facebook , TikTok , YouTube , Google and Snapchat : Meta , ByteDance , Snap and Alphabet ( Google ).
The educational authorities assure that the business models of these platforms harm the youth.
What does the lawsuit say?
The apps have “successfully exploited the vulnerable brains of youth, hooking tens of millions of students across the country into positive feedback loops of overuse and abuse of defendants’ social media platforms,” according to the lawsuit.
In addition, it ensures that the content that “cures and directs youth is too often harmful and exploitative”, with even occasions when it encourages self-harm.
The lawsuit recalls the words of US President Joe Biden regarding social networks, in which he assured that they must answer for the “national experiment that they conduct on children while they earn money.”
Meta and Snap respond
Antigone Davis, Meta ‘s global head of Safety , told Insider that the company has developed more than 30 tools to help teens and families, as well as identifying “more than 99%” of harmful content before it’s reported.
A Snap spokesperson also told Insider that “nothing is more important to us than the well-being of our community,” which is why the company works closely with mental health organizations to provide resources to address issues facing youth. now.