In what they call a “Davis versus Goliath” challenge, Bucks County officials on Wednesday announced a sweeping lawsuit against major social media companies for triggering a growing mental health crisis among the nation’s teenagers.
Citing social media’s addictive qualities and role in inspiring negative self-image, the suit demands accountability and unspecified financial damages for the rising costs of mental health services the county offers to young people.Representatives from the social media companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
While officials stressed the financial burden of expanding these programs, they did not provide direct figures on their cost to the county when asked. The county also alleges companies violated Pennsylvania consumer protection and unfair trade laws by marketing their products to young people and selling their data to advertisers.
Data concerns are repeatedly mentioned, particularly following a directive from the federal government that its employees delete TikTok from their phones due to connections between ByteDance, the app’s parent company, and the Chinese government.from using TikTok on county devices. Geopolitical conflicts aside, they argued that selling underage users’ data violates a 1998 child protection law.
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