Arkansas has filed a lawsuit against YouTube and its parent company, Alphabet. The lawsuit accuses the platform of contributing to the mental health crisis among the state’s youth. It claims that the platform’s addictive nature has led the state to spend millions on mental health services.
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The lawsuit, filed in an Arkansas state court, accuses YouTube of violating state laws related to deceptive trade practices and public nuisance. It alleges that the platform exploited children’s dopamine response by exposing them to harmful content. The lawsuit states that youth mental health problems have increased alongside the growth of social media, particularly YouTube. Although the lawsuit does not specify a dollar amount in damages, the state is seeking a court order requiring YouTube to fund prevention, education, and treatment programs to address excessive social media use among children.
Google, which owns YouTube, has denied the allegations in a statement. “Providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work. In collaboration with youth, mental health, and parenting experts, we built services and policies to provide young people with age-appropriate experiences and parents with robust controls,” said spokesperson Jose Castaneda. The lawsuit also claims that YouTube’s algorithm directs children toward inappropriate content, including adult material, and facilitates the spread of child abuse material.
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According to the Associated Press, the lawsuit follows Arkansas’ recent attempt to enact a law requiring parental consent for minors to create social media accounts. A federal judge blocked the law, and U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy also called for warnings on social media platforms similar to cigarette packaging.
“It is time to require a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents. A surgeon general’s warning label, which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe,”
