LAS VEGAS (AP) 鈥� Nevada's state attorney general has launched a go-it-alone legal fight against five popular social media platforms, alleging they have created, in one instance 鈥渁n addiction machine,鈥� and that they deliberately exploit children too young to have a capacity for self-control.
A trio of lawsuits filed in state court in Las Vegas seek unspecified damages from TikTok, Snapchat and Meta Platforms, the owner of Instagram, Facebook and Messenger, on claims including deceptive trade practices and negligence.
鈥淎ll of these platforms use features ... to maximize youth use, manipulate young emotions, and exploit children鈥檚 developing minds 鈥� all for massive financial gain,鈥� state Attorney General Aaron Ford said in a statement about the lawsuits filed Tuesday.
鈥淓ach of these platforms has also been linked to serious dangers to kids, including auto accidents, increases in drug overdoses, suicides, eating disorders, sexual exploitation and more,鈥� the statement said.
The lawsuits were filed just ahead of by top executives of Meta, TikTok, Snap Inc. and other platforms.
TikTok representative Michael Hughes declined in an email on Wednesday to comment about the legal case but pointed to posted policies and parental controls that he said were designed to prioritize the safety and of teens.
鈥淲e do not allow content depicting, promoting, normalizing or glorifying activities that could lead to suicide or self-harm, or content that promotes unhealthy eating behaviors or habits that are likely to cause adverse health outcomes,鈥� the email said.
Snap Inc. spokesperson Ashley Adams said in a statement the site opens to a camera, not a scrolling feed of content, 鈥渁nd has no traditional public likes or comments.鈥�
鈥淲e feel good about the role Snapchat plays in helping close friends feel connected, happy and prepared as they face the many challenges of adolescence,鈥� the statement said.
Meta representative Chris Sgro said the platform has 鈥減eople who have dedicated their careers to keeping young people safe and supported online鈥� and offers 鈥漷ools and features to support them and their parents.鈥�
鈥淲e want teens to have safe, age-appropriate experiences online,鈥� he said.
Before Congress, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg responded to Republican Sen. Josh Hawley's directly to 鈥渇amilies of victims.鈥� Some parents at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing held photos of their children who died by suicide.
鈥淚鈥檓 sorry for everything you have all been through. No one should go through the things that your families have suffered,鈥� Zuckerberg said, adding that Meta continues to invest and work on 鈥渋ndustry-wide efforts鈥� to protect children.
Nevada was not among more than 33 states that against Meta in federal court in California, alleging that features on Instagram and Facebook are designed to addict children.
John Sadler, a spokesperson for Ford, declined to say whether the Nevada lawsuits were timed to coincide with the congressional hearing.
But Sadler acknowledged the decision to file the cases in state court instead of joining other states in federal court follows a path the state took in opioid damages claims. Nevada reached with pharmaceutical companies, retailers and others in those cases that are expected to reap more than for the state.
Ford, a Democrat, enlisted participation in the Nevada case from three prominent personal injury law firms based in Las Vegas, Dallas and Little Rock, Arkansas.
鈥淪ocial media platforms are a bottomless pit where users can spend an infinite amount of their time,鈥� Nevada said in the Snapchat complaint. 鈥淚t demands our attention first thing in the morning and last thing at night, at the dinner table, while we're walking down the street, even when we are driving.鈥�
鈥淢uch like an illegal drug, Snapchat has been designed to be an addiction machine,鈥� the court filing said.
Each complaint also cites a by Mike Brooks, titled 鈥淭he 鈥榁egas Effect鈥� of Our Screens," that compares compulsive social media use to the effect of gamblers sitting at slot machines and playing 鈥渇or hours on end.鈥�
Ken Ritter, The Associated Press
