Nevada takes on 5 social media giants in new lawsuits
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The addictive social media apps that kids love bear responsibility for serious dangers they present to the same youth, according to five lawsuits filed Tuesday by the Nevada Attorney General’s Office.
TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and Messenger are named in lawsuits that allege the algorithms the platforms use are “designed deliberately to addict young minds and prey on teenagers’ well-understood vulnerabilities.”
Endless scrolling, dopamine-inducing rewards, disappearing content, likes, shares, push notifications and other elements are being used to maximize use by young adults and children, according to a news release announcing the litigation. The civil lawsuits — a combined 530 pages — were filed in Clark County District Court in conjunction with the law firms of Nachawati Law Group, WH Law, and Kemp Jones, LLP.
The lawsuits include images of each product’s advertising methods, account creation steps and addictive features that keep kids coming back for more. The TikTok lawsuit even included a graphic breaking down how the algorithm fed content to addicted users.
The lawsuits against Instagram, Facebook and Messenger — all produced by Meta — had pages and pages that were redacted in copies provided to the media.
Instagram, according to the lawsuit, has been exposed by explosive whistleblower testimony saying the company has known for years that its products are both attractive and harmful to young children and teens.
The five social media platforms manipulate young emotions and exploit children’s developing minds for massive financial gain, according to the lawsuits.
The litigation alleges these actions have encouraged problematic internet usage and caused young people harms to mental health, body image, physical health, privacy, and physical safety.
The strategy to prey on young consumers is a big issue in the litigation.
“All five of these platforms are enormously popular with young people, and all five are alleged to have sizeable populations of teen users. Further, each platform is alleged to have a large percentage of users under the age of 13, the legal age cutoff for these types of apps. Each of these platforms has also been linked to serious dangers to kids, including auto accidents, increases in drug overdoses, suicides, eating disorders, sexual exploitation and more,” according to the Attorney General’s Office.
“My commitment to protecting consumers, particularly those that are as vulnerable as our youth, is unwavering,” Nevada Democratic Attorney General AaronFord said in a statement contained in the news release. “Bringing this litigation is an important step toward ensuring social media platforms put our children’s safety before their profits. I look forward to working closely with our partners to protect the youth of our state.”
The lawsuits describe the dangers associated with the five social media apps as “design defects” and a violation of deceptive trade practices.
For example, “Snapchat has a design defect (the design elements) that renders it unreasonably dangerous. Specifically, Snapchat failed to perform in the manner reasonably to be expected in light of its nature and intended function and was more dangerous than would be contemplated by the ordinary user having the ordinary knowledge available in the community,” according to the lawsuit.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
