Two-thirds of a million dollars Tribes They accuse social media giants of contributing to high suicide rates in Native teens by deliberately getting them hooked on their platforms.
On Tuesday, the lawsuits were filed at Los Angeles County Superior Court. The Spirit Lake Tribe of North Dakota filed one lawsuit, while the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin filed the other. These lawsuits include Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat as well as TikTok and YouTube. They also name their parent companies Meta and Google.
In a Business Insider statement, Lonna Jackson Street, Chairperson of Spirit Lake Nation said that Native youth were particularly susceptible to negative effects from these platforms’ intentional and profit-driven designs.
According to Center for Native American Youth, the lawsuit stated that suicide rates for US tribal youth are between three-and-ahalf and four times greater than those of other ethnic or racial groups.
The lawsuits stated that “suicide and mental illnesses have devastated Tribal Communities and have brought mental health programs, which have been chronically underfunded to breaking point.”
According to lawsuits, the addiction of these platforms is a major factor in the mental illness crisis among youth, especially those on reservation.
They said that the lawsuits Social media companies The companies allegedly “deliberately altered the design and functionality of their apps in order to exploit the neurophysiology and psychology of children” and preyed upon an already vulnerable population.
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The lawsuits seek, among other things: “equitable compensation to fund prevention education for social media abuse and treatment.”
It’s enough. The endless scrolling of our teens’ minds is changing them. “We are demanding that these social media companies take responsibility for creating features which intentionally encourage the use of social networks by youth in our Reservation,” Gena Kakak, Chairwoman of the Menominee Indian Tribe said in a press release.
Google’s spokesperson Jose Castaneda told BI in a press release: “Providing young users with a healthier, safer experience has been at the core of our work for years. We worked with experts in youth mental health and parenting to create services and policies that would provide age-appropriate content for young people and give parents robust control. “These allegations are not true.”
Business Insider’s requests for comments on Meta, TikTok and Snapchat were not responded to immediately.
There have also been other lawsuits brought against social media users, such as by Meta was sued by dozens of attorneys general from across the country Last year. Robins Kaplan, an attorney who filed the lawsuits, says that these lawsuits are among the first to be brought against federally recognized tribal groups for social media abuse.
Our complaint claims that these social media giants generated hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue using a strategy of growth at all costs, which is detrimental to Native children, teenagers, and other vulnerable groups. Tribal Nations Tim Purdon is the chair of the American Indian Law and Policy Group at the firm and the lead counsel for the tribes.
In February of this year, New York City filed another lawsuit, accusing Facebook, Instagram TikTok Snapchat and YouTube, that their addictive platforms were contributing to the mental health crisis among youth.
Snap Inc.’s parent company, Snapchat, responded in a press release to the media. Associated Press The app opens directly with a camera, rather than an endless feed of content which encourages scrolling and does not have traditional likes or public comments.
In the statement, it was stated: “While there is always more to be done, we are pleased with the positive role Snapchat has played in enabling close friends to feel happy and connected as they navigate the challenges of teenage years.”
According to a TikTok representative, AP reported at the time that TikTok had “industry-leading safeguards” for teens, such as age-restricted functions, parental controls and an automatic time limit of 60 minutes for those under 18.
Meta said that it wants to “ensure teens have safe and age-appropriate online experiences” and has features dedicated for parents and kids.