US families are suing social media platforms, calling them ‘big, bad monsters’
Meta, YouTube, and other social media platforms are being sued by US families for social media addiction and content allegedly related to child sex abuse….
Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, and Meta (parent company of Facebook and Instagram) are reportedly bothering hundreds of US families. According to the report, families view IT businesses as “big, bad monsters”.
The claimants include US families and school districts. In the Monday report, 21-year-old Taylor Little said
She said, “Addiction captured me at 12. My life wasn’t back for my entire teen years.”
Taylor attempted suicide and suffered from depression due to her social media addiction.
She said, “Losing my phone was like withdrawal. It was agony. It wasn’t habit-forming, but addictive. My body and mind wanted that.”
Taylor had eating disorder and body image issues.
Taylor and hundreds of other American families sued four major social media corporations, including:
According to the BBC, “Lawyers for the families believe the case of 14-year-old British schoolgirl Molly Russell is an important example of the potential harm for teenagers.”
Russell, a joyful northwest London youngster, was found dead in her bedroom in November 2017. Later, she was found to be viewing suicide, anxiety, and depression content online.
The California master complaint mentions Russell 12 times.
Last Monday, a US federal court denied a social network giant’s plea to dismiss dozens of complaints, relieving these families. They were accused of running platforms that are ‘addictive’ to youngsters and promoting child sex abuse materials, which is worrisome.
District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers rejected their motion, saying ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company), Meta (Facebook and Instagram’s parent company), Alphabet (Google’s parent company), and Snap (Snapchat’s parent company) must proceed with a lawsuit alleging their social platforms harm children’s mental health.
The verdict states, “Defendants have ‘created a youth mental health crisis’ through the defective design of their platforms” because minors still developing impulse control are especially vulnerable to social media harms.
The verdict states, “These platforms also enable child sexual exploitation and sextortion and the online production and transmission of child sex abuse materials (CSAM). Defendants know from public and internal statistics that children utilize their products.
Family lawyers termed it a ‘significant victory.’
Meta said they sympathize with the families in these accusations in an official statement.
The social media giant added, “We want to reassure every parent that we are working to give teens safe, supportive online experiences.”
Google claims the charges are “simply not true”.
They said, “Protecting kids across our platforms has always been core to our work.”
Snapchat says it “was created to reduce perfectionism. We screen all content before it reaches a broad audience to prevent hazardous stuff.
Conclusion
Hundreds of US families dislike Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, and Meta as “big, bad monsters.” Normal families and schools are plaintiffs. Taylor Little, 21, was addicted at 12 and struggling with depression and suicide attempts throughout her teens. These firms are being sued by her and hundreds of American families.
As an example of youthful harm, the paper cited 14-year-old British schoolgirl Molly Russell. The US federal court denied social media firms’ petition to dismiss cases for “addictive” platforms and child sex abuse. ByteDance, Meta, Alphabet, and Snap must sue about their social networks’ mental health consequences on children, according to District Judge US Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.
