Seattle schools are suing TikTok and Meta over the youth mental health crisis.

It is offered by the Seattle Public Schools lawsuitThe tech giants behind TikTok (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat) have accused them of creating “a mental health crisis among America’s youth.” The 91-page lawsuitA US district judge ruled that tech companies are exploiting social media’s addictive nature, leading to increased anxiety, depression, and thoughts of self harm.

“The defendants’ growth is the result of choices they made to design and operate their platforms in ways that exploit the psychology and neurophysiology of their users to spend more and more time on their platforms,” the complaint states. “[They]It has successfully exploited vulnerable minds of young people and connected tens of million of students across the country in positive feedback loops through the excessive use of Defendants’ social media platforms.”

The complaint states that harmful content was being promoted to users in the form of extreme diet plans, encouragement to self-harm, and other such things. This resulted to a 30% increase in the number students who felt “extremely unhappy or hopeless… for at least two weeks consecutively” between 2009 and 2019. [they]I stopped doing certain of my normal activities.”

The defendants’ misconduct played a major role in causing the youth mental crisis. It was marked by increasing rates of anxiety, depression and thoughts of self-harming, as well as a growing number of young people feeling suicidal. The number of young people who have suffered from mental health problems has increased steadily since 2010. By 2018, suicide was the second leading cause.

This results in a decrease in their performance in school, which makes them “less like to go to school, more likely do drugs and more likely act out. All these factors directly affect the ability to the Seattle Public Schools fulfill its educational mission.”

Section 230 of US Communications Decency Act states that online platforms are not responsible to third-party content. The lawsuit claims that this provision does nothing to protect social media companies from recommending and distributing content in a “harmful way.”

“We have invested heavily in creating safe experiences across our platforms for children and have delivered robust safety features and features dedicated to prioritizing the well-being of their well being,” stated a Google spokesperson. Axios. “For example, through Family Link, we provide parents with the ability to set reminders, limit screen time and block certain types of content on supervised devices.”

Salama Antigone Davis released a statement saying that she had developed over 30 tools to help teens and their families. This includes moderation tools that allow parents limit the time that teens spend on Instagram and age verification tech that helps teens have age-appropriate experiences. “We will continue to collaborate closely with experts, policymakers and parents on these critical issues.” Engadget reached out to TikTok but has yet to hear back from them.

Experts and critics recently accused social media companies and teens of exploiting children and teens. Frances Hogan, a whistleblower and major witness before Congress, stated that “…”Facebook products harm children. Brian Austin, an expert in eating disorders, wrote in a 2021 Harvard ArticleSocial media content can lead teens into a dangerous spiral. Legislators were able to see this issue and proposed a solution. Child Online Safety Act(KOSA) Last year.