A Seattle public school district sued social media giants including TikTok, Snap, Meta and YouTube on Friday, accusing it of fueling a mental health crisis in its student body.
The lawsuit alleges that the companies’ algorithms recommend content that can help with eating disorders.
The county is seeking fines and the tech companies to stop harassing the public. While the tech giants are not responsible for what their users post, the lawsuit focuses on recommendations and content promoted by the algorithm.
“The plaintiff alleges that the defendants are liable for the actions of the defendants themselves, and not for what third parties say on the defendants’ platforms,” ​​the lawsuit states. “The defendants endorse and promote harmful content to young people, such as anorexia and eating disorders.”
TikTok is one of the most downloaded social media apps worldwide, as well as in the United States, particularly among young users.
(Future Publishing via CFOTO/Getty Images)
Teen sues MET for ‘deliberately’ making platforms addictive, harmful: ‘THEY ARE FULLY AWARE’
The lawsuit also said that mental health problems such as anxiety and depression increased by 30 percent between 2009 and 2019.
Seattle Public Schools students said they felt “so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more” that they stopped their regular activities.
contacted the defendant companies for comment.
According to police, the victim and the suspect met on the social media app Snapchat
(Nicolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto)
Snapchat’s parent company, Snap, inc. said, “While we cannot comment on the specifics of an active lawsuit, nothing is more important to us than the well-being of our community.”
“Snapchat is designed to help people connect with their real friends, without some of the peer pressure and social comparison features of traditional social media platforms, and intentionally makes it harder for strangers to connect with young people,” a spokesperson said. “We’re also working closely with many mental health organizations to provide in-app tools and resources for Snapchatters as part of our ongoing work to keep our community safe. We’re committed to making sure our platform is safe and helping Snapchatters with mental health issues We will continue to work to provide engaging, health-related resources to help address the challenges facing young people today.
INSTAGRAM HAS LAUNCHED A FEATURE THAT INVITES TEENAGERS TO THE CHANNEL.
Google issued a statement to the ABC saying: “We’ve invested heavily in creating a safe experience for children on our platforms and have introduced strong protections and special features to put their well-being first.”
Google has never been officially responsible for the content Americans consume, so Republican National Committee finance chairman Todd Ricketts wants to offer an alternative.
(Associated Press)
Lawmakers CALL FOR NATIONAL BAN, CUT OFF WARNING ON TIKTOK: ‘It’s DIGITAL FENTANYL’
TikTok has been flagged for potential national security concerns. In December, the House ordered the social networking app TikTok to be immediately removed from their devices, according to an email obtained by Fox News.
In an email, House Chief of Staff Catherine L. Shipindor wrote to staff and lawmakers that TikTok had been banned from “all devices controlled by the House of Representatives.” The e-mail said the policy “is effective immediately.”
The news comes after Congress introduced a bill that would have banned TikTok from being used by law enforcement agencies In over 4000 pages omnibus package passed last week.
Fox News’ Jeffrey Clarke, Tyler Olsen and Brianna Herlihy.