LITTLE ROCK, AR —
The state of Arkansas sued YouTube and parent company Alphabet on Monday, accusing the video-sharing platform of being intentionally addictive and fueling a mental health crisis among the state’s youth.
Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office filed a lawsuit in state court alleging violations of the state’s deceptive trade practices and public nuisance laws. The lawsuit alleges the site is addictive and has cost the state millions of dollars to expand mental health and other services for young people as a result.
“YouTube amplifies harmful content, pumps users with dopamine, and fosters youth engagement and advertising revenue,” the complaint says. “As a result, mental health issues among young people are progressing in tandem with the growth of social media, particularly YouTube.”
Alphabet Inc.’s Google, which owns the video service and is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, denied the lawsuit’s allegations.
“Providing safer and healthier experiences for young people has always been at the core of our work. Working with youth, mental health and parenting experts, we provide young people with age-appropriate experiences. “We’ve built services and policies that provide parents with robust controls,” Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said in a statement. Not true. ”
YouTube requires users under 17 to get parental permission before using the site, and users under 13 must link their accounts to their parent’s account. But it’s possible to watch YouTube without an account, and kids can easily lie about their age.
The lawsuit is the latest in ongoing efforts by state and federal legislatures to highlight the impact social media sites have on young users. In June, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy asked Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms about the effects on youth, similar to those currently required on cigarette packs.
Last year, the state of Arkansas filed similar lawsuits against TikTok and Facebook’s parent company Meta, alleging that the social media companies mislead consumers about the safety of children and the protection of users’ personal data on their platforms. . Those cases are still pending in state court.
Arkansas also enacted a law requiring parental consent for minors to create new social media accounts, but the bill was blocked by a federal judge.
Along with TikTok, YouTube is one of the most popular sites for children and teenagers. Both sites have come under fire in the past for hosting and, in some cases, promoting videos that promote gun violence, eating disorders, and self-harm.
YouTube changed its firearms video policy in June, banning videos that show how to remove a firearm’s safety. Under the new policy, videos showcasing certain firearm accessories, such as homemade guns, automatic weapons, and silencers, will be restricted to users 18 and older.
The Arkansas lawsuit alleges that YouTube’s algorithms drive young people to harmful adult content and encourage the spread of child sexual abuse content.
The lawsuit does not seek specific damages, but instead seeks to order YouTube to fund prevention, education, and treatment for “excessive and problematic social media use.”
