JACKSON, Tenn. (WBBJ) – On Thursday, a new lawsuit was filed against META, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube by the families of children from Tennessee and other states who died by suicide. This was after experiencing escalating harms linked to social media.
The filing is the latest in a string of lawsuits alleging the platforms knowingly designed products that harmed young users. It also comes as Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s lawsuit against META is underway in Nashville.
“While we cannot change technology overnight, we can delay the introduction and situations under which we are exposing our children to this technology,” said Dr. Nidhi Gupta with the Phreedom Foundation.
Dr. Gupta recommends parents to refrain from allowing kids to use social media platforms until age 16.
“There is a part of the brain called the pre-frontal cortex which helps with executive functioning skills, self-control, emotional regulation, and ability to get off the addictive programs. Pre-frontal cortex is only about 50% formed by the time an induvial is 18,” said Dr. Gupta.
Skrmetti’s lawsuit alleges the company deliberately designed its platform to addict children and teens.
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