Social Media Lawsuits

Social media lawsuits against Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and other social media platforms argue that using these social media websites can aggravate mental health issues in children and young adults, including but not limited to: eating disorders, self-inflicted harm, and social media addiction. Many parents and legal organizations, like Frantz Law Group, claim that these social media giants were aware of the potential harm that their platforms could cause, but failed to issue appropriate warnings to young users and their guardians.

Why are People Suing Social Media Companies? 

People are suing companies like Meta because of studies and company notes that show a strong link between heavy social media use and mental health issues in teenagers and children. These problems can include social media addiction, negative body image, eating disorders, low self-confidence, feelings of anxiety or depression, and even thoughts of suicide.

Social media can be riskier for teens than for adults. There are lawsuits against Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, claiming that they made social media platforms that are especially harmful and addictive for teens and children. Documents from within Meta show that the leaders of the social media company knew that the way they designed Facebook and Instagram could lead to serious mental health issues, like self-harm and suicide.

Meta is facing many legal challenges from families and parents whose teens and children were mentally harmed using Instagram and Facebook. School districts, including Seattle Public Schools, have also filed lawsuits against the companies that own Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, and other social media platforms. They believe that these platforms have taken advantage of young people’s minds in a way that’s harmful to their health. 

Social Media Algorithms Target Teenagers

Social media platforms use algorithms that target teenagers by showing them images, videos, and stories made just for them. Meta spends millions to attract and keep its young audience. The problem is that these algorithms often promote posts that get the most shares, follows, and likes. This can fill the social media user’s timeline with images and ideas promoting extreme opinions, unrealistic beauty standards, risky stunts, and other harmful content. 

Instagram, a popular social media platform among teenagers, was designed to make you compare yourself to others. Some critics say this creates unrealistic expectations for teenagers. They worry that social media feeds are full of messages about eating disorders, self-harm, and other self-confidence issues that can lead to mental health problems for teenagers and children.

Teenagers are More Prone to Addiction

Social media is designed to keep people coming back to platforms, and teenagers are especially at risk of becoming addicted to social media. This is because their social skills and brains are rapidly growing. During the teen years, the brain is still developing, and using social media too often can change the way the brain works, making it crave constant updates.

Dr. DeAngelis has explained that this can worsen mental health problems, like anxiety, depression, ADHD, and body dysmorphia. The younger a child is when they start using social media, the more at risk they are for these problems. 

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association has shown that teenagers who are on social media for more than 3 hours per day have a higher risk of mental health issues. This research highlights the connection between social media overuse and its potential mental health effects, particularly among young users.

Facebook and Instagram’s Connection to Social Media Addiction

Research has found that platforms like Facebook and Instagram can affect the brain in ways that lead to addictive behaviors. Legal filings state that Instagram created a situation that’s perfect for triggering social media addiction by making users constantly compare themselves to others and using algorithms that keep pushing content through features like Feed, Stories, Explore, and Reels.

According to Dr. Nancy DeAngelis, who leads the behavioral health department at Jefferson Health in Abington, “Social media platforms cause the brain to release dopamine, a feel-good chemical, to get people to keep coming back. When you get shares, likes, and comments on these platforms, it triggers a part of the brain that makes you feel good, similar to the feeling people get when they gamble or use drugs.”

Fact: Studies suggest that as many as 10% of people in the United States may be struggling with social media addiction. This addiction is especially concerning for children and teenagers, who are more at risk because their brains are still growing and developing.

Meta Was Aware of the Damaging Effects its Platform had on Teen Girls

Meta’s statistics about social media harm revealed that 1 out of 3 teen girls who were on Instagram felt insecure about their body. This information came out in 2021 when Frances Haugen, a whistleblower, leaked reports from the social media company. These girls also showed higher levels of depression and anxiety.

According to court documents, Meta’s platforms were intentionally designed to let children and teenagers use social media without their parents’ knowledge or control. The social media giant even knew that kids under 13 were using its products. These products can be even more harmful and addictive to children, teenagers, people of color, and women.

A lawsuit filed by Jeffrey Spence and Kathleen Alexis asserts that Instagram caused Alexis to develop a range of problems, including anxiety, addiction, depression, eating disorders, self-harm, and suicidal ideation after she began using the platform when she was 11. The lawsuit says that the platform even encouraged her to create more than one social media account without asking her parents.

Instagram’s Link to Eating Disorders

Instagram focuses on photos and videos, often showing images of lifestyles and make up/beauty. This can lead to problems with how people see themselves and even cause eating disorders. 

In an experiment in 2021, CNN created an Instagram account pretending to be a 13-year-old girl. Instagram suggested accounts with names like “Prettily Skinny,” “Sweett Skinny,” and “Wanna Be Skinny” to this fake social media account.

A study from 2017 that was published in Eating and Weight Disorders looked at a specific eating disorder known as orthorexia nervosa. This is when someone becomes obsessed with only eating healthy foods, and it can sometimes happen alongside another disorder called anorexia. The study found that using Instagram more often was linked to a higher chance of having this disorder. Other social media platforms didn’t have this impact.

School Districts Join Lawsuit Against Meta and Other Social Media Platforms

It’s not just individuals suing big tech companies like Meta and Google. Other organizations, including schools, have also filed lawsuits. These social media lawsuits claim that the platforms are hurting students’ mental health. According to a claim made by Seattle Public Schools, the tech companies created their social media platforms to make more money by getting users to spend as much time as possible on them.

The social media lawsuit states that these designs have “been a substantial factor in causing a youth mental health crisis, which has been marked by higher and higher proportions of youth struggling with anxiety, depression, thoughts of self-harm, and suicidal ideation.”

Students who are dealing with depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and other mental health problems have trouble in school, start using substances, and suffer from other behavioral problems. The school district is suing for money to fund things like training teachers and examining students for mental health problems.

A Timeline of Social Media Lawsuits

As of August 2023, social media lawsuits have yet to yield any court-endorsed settlements or jury verdicts. Specifically, 344 social media lawsuits were pending as part of multidistrict litigation (MDL) #3047 in the Northern District of California as of July 2023.

A recent timeline of that social media lawsuits is as follows:

• October 2022: A consolidation of more than 70 social media lawsuits took place within an MDL in Oakland, California.
• February 2023: Judicial approval was granted for a master complaint, facilitating the addition of plaintiffs to the MDL.
• March 2023: A ruling by the judge mandated that defendants must file any Motion to Dismiss no later than April 2023, with plaintiffs required to respond by June 1, 2023.
• July 2023: Numerous school districts, including Seattle Public Schools, initiated legal action through social media lawsuits, subsequently being transferred to the MDL.
• August 2023: The deadline has been set for the Motion to Dismiss pertaining to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and the First Amendment.

The majority of these lawsuits—roughly 70%—have been against Meta’s platforms—Facebook and Instagram—as reported by Reuters. Other entities listed as defendants include social media companies like Snap Inc., TikTok Inc., ByteDance Inc., YouTube LLC, Google LLC, and Alphabet Inc.

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