Children are suffering an unprecedented mental health crisis fueled by addictive and dangerous social media products. In the past decade, engagement with social media grew exponentially, nowhere more dramatically than among our youth. That explosion in usage is no accident. It is the result of social media companies studied efforts to induce young people to compulsively use their products—Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube. Borrowing heavily from the behavioral and neurobiological techniques used by slot machines and exploited by the cigarette industry, social media companies have deliberately embedded in their products an array of design features aimed at maximizing youth engagement to drive advertising revenue. Although these companies know children are in a developmental stage that leaves them particularly vulnerable to the addictive effects of these features, they target them anyway in pursuit of additional profit.
Plaintiffs’ master complaint
Victims and Survivors of Online Harm and Exploitation Can Participate in this Groundbreaking Product Liability Lawsuit Against Major Social Media Companies
- United States and Canadian residents are eligible.
- Have you or your child been a victim of online sexual abuse and exploitation?
- Have predators recruited you or your child online?
- Have you or your child been a victim of online child pornography?
- Have you or your child’s child sex abuse material (CSAM) been posted online?
- Are you or your child a victim of sextortion?
- Do you or your child exhibits signs and symptoms of social media addiction and maladaptive behavior?