San Diego County leaders, school officials and students announced a lawsuit Thursday against Meta — the parent company for Facebook and Instagram — Google, SnapChat, YouTube and TikTok.
The suit claims the companies use behavioral and neurobiological techniques to "induce students to compulsively use their social media platforms." It says the companies conduct constitutes a public nuisance.
San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer said the companies know exactly what they’re doing.
"Addiction is profitable. And it's not just Meta — Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube all use the same tricks. Infinite scroll, autoplay, algorithms designed to keep our kids trapped on an endless loop. It's not an accident. It is their business model," Lawson-Remer said.
Mt. Everest Academy 10th Grader Vihann Bhardwaj said social media used to help him connect with his extended family, but things have changed.
"Instead of connecting me, social media kept me disconnected as ever, keeping me lost and chasing the deceptively perfect lives of the seemingly perfect influencers I was targeted to. This is when I realized that social media capitalizes on vulnerability. It capitalizes on insecurities," Bhardwaj said.
Richard Barrera, a San Diego Unified School Board member, said he sees the impact of social media on students.
"It means our young people are sleeping less, are experiencing more depression, more anxiety, in some cases leading to suicidal ideation. And then it affects the relationships that young people have with each other. It increases bullying," Barrera said.
Lawson-Remer said they are seeking financial damages for the money the county is spending to treat the mental health crisis that she said social media addiction fuels.
"Financial penalties to help compensate us are important, but ultimately that's not sufficient. We need these companies to stop designing their platforms in a way that creates addiction. So we're looking for real reforms in how these platforms operate," Lawson-Remer said.
A Google spokesperson responded to the lawsuit with a statement.
“Providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work.," said José Castañeda, a Google spokesperson in the emailed statement. "The allegations in these complaints are simply not true.”
The other companies did not respond to requests for comment.
