On October 8, the New York City government submitted a 327-page lawsuit to the federal court, suing several major social media platforms for designing “addictive mechanisms” that attract users and contribute to a mental health crisis among young people. The defendants include Meta (parent company of Facebook and Instagram), Alphabet (Google/YouTube), Snap, and ByteDance (parent company of TikTok).
The city government stated in the lawsuit that these platforms deliberately exploit the psychological vulnerabilities of children and teenagers by designing algorithms and interactive features that encourage young users to spend long hours addicted to social media, resulting in issues such as insomnia, truancy, anxiety, and depression, posing a serious threat to public health. New York City Mayor Adam Adams emphasized, “Our children are becoming sacrifices to these tech giants chasing profits, and the city government must take action to hold companies accountable.”
The city government classified social media behavior as a “public nuisance” and demanded that companies bear the massive social costs resulting from the mental health crisis among young people. The lawsuit points out that the business model of social platforms is similar to that of tobacco and opioid companies, exchanging user dependency for enormous profits.
Google responded by stating that YouTube should not be seen as a social media platform. As of the deadline, other companies have not yet issued any comments.
This is not the first time that New York City has taken legal action against social media. As early as February 2024, the city government sued TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube, accusing them of exacerbating the mental health crisis among young people.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James also filed a lawsuit against TikTok in 2024, joined by multiple states, demanding changes to its “harmful features” and punitive damages. In May 2025, the court rejected TikTok’s motion to dismiss, allowing the case to proceed.
Some scholars point out that there is still controversy in the scientific community regarding whether “social media directly causes mental health problems among young people,” with most studies providing correlational evidence rather than establishing a causal relationship. However, as mental health issues continue to worsen in American society, local governments are increasingly challenging tech companies legally, potentially altering the future regulatory landscape for digital platforms.