New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced on Feb. 14 his plans to hold social media platforms accountable for their supposed impact on the nationwide youth mental health crisis by filing litigation that, according to the mayor’s official press release, “seeks to force tech giants to change their behavior and to recover the costs of addressing this public health threat.”

The lawsuit, filed in California by the state of New York, specifically targets five major social media platforms: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube.

“Over the past decade, we have seen just how addictive and overwhelming the online world can be, exposing our children to a non-stop stream of harmful content and fueling our national youth mental health crisis,” Adams stated in his address.

“These companies have chosen profit over the wellbeing of children by intentionally designing their platforms with manipulative and addictive features and using harmful algorithms targeted to young people,” he added. 

The 305-page document alleges similar claims, stating that the defendant targeted school-aged children in order to turn a profit by promoting social media addiction. “The lawsuit accused the social media companies of manipulating users by making them feel compelled to respond to one positive action with another positive action,” according to ABC7 New York. This announcement comes after a public health advisory in January by Health Commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, declared social media a public health crisis. The advisory “provides recommendations to parents and caregivers, health care providers, educators and policymakers on actions that can be taken to protect children, including the recommendation to delay social media use until the age of 14,” according to ABC7.  

One of the goals of the lawsuit is to recover the costs incurred by the state when addressing teen mental health. “Care, Community, Action: A Mental Health Plan for New York City,” Adams announced in March 2023 as part of a mental health agenda with over $20 million in new commitments. The plan was aimed at investing in child and family mental health, among other goals. 

In the following months, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a $1 billion mental health initiative. This plan focused on providing adequate treatment and care to those struggling with mental health.

Several spokespeople from the social media platforms targeted in the lawsuit have openly denied the allegations, with many citing the security features built into their apps that ensure safe user experiences. 

“We want teens to have safe, age-appropriate experiences online, and we have over 30 tools and features to support them and their parents,” a spokesperson for Meta said in a statement in response to the lawsuit. Some of these features include stricter private messaging settings as well as parental supervision. 

Similarly, TikTok has safeguards built into the platform. “Age-restricted features, parental controls, an automatic 60-minute time limit for users under 18 and more,” TikTok said in a statement responding to the lawsuit. 

The state’s lawsuit is one of many in recent months, as parents and educators are arguing for stricter limitations on social media, leaving the fate of generation-shaping platforms in question.