Ark., Calif. Suits Are Latest to Blame Social Media for Mental Health Crisis

State court lawsuits in Arkansas and California against social media companies this month are among a wave of actions against Meta and others for their alleged role in a growing mental health crisis in the U.S. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin (R) sued Meta Tuesday for violating the state’s Public Nuisance Law and its Deceptive Trade Practices Act (ADTPA), plus unjust enrichment, said the complaint (docket 57CV-23-47) in Polk County Circuit Court. In California, plaintiffs cited Facebook’s, Instagram’s, Snapchat’s and TikTok’s product “defects.”

Griffin cited recent comments by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) on introduction of the state’s Social Media Safety Act, saying “Big Tech can be a “threat to our kids.” Social media can be a “great tool and a good resource for a number of things,” but “many kids are simply not prepared for the negative aspects of it.” Social media companies “want the most users possible, as young as possible, with as little parental supervision as possible," said Sanders, whose comments were taken from a March 9 KATV Little Rock video posted to Facebook.

In Arkansas, more than four times as many people died by suicide in 2020 than in alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents, and suicide is the second-leading cause of death for youth, said the complaint. Teen suicide in Arkansas is above that of the U.S. generally and has been on the rise in several counties, it said. Meta’s algorithms in Facebook and Instagram, designed to “stimulate releases of dopamine” to maximize user engagement, “create unhealthy and harmful outcomes for children and teens,” it said.

Arkansas is “uniquely harmed” by the current youth mental health crisis because the state funds outpatient health services for children and teens, families, emergency services and other programs, said the complaint. Many children and teens can't access services in a timely manner due to long waiting lists for existing mental health providers, it said. The state requires “significantly" more long-term funding to address “the nuisance Defendants have created.”

The state seeks declaratory judgment that Meta’s conduct constitutes a public nuisance under Arkansas law and violates the ADTPA; an injunction preventing it from “deceptive and harmful business practices”; civil penalties of $10,000 per violation; an order requiring Meta to disgorge and forfeit all profits it derived as a result of its “deceptive acts”; equitable relief to fund prevention education and treatment of excessive social media use; and actual, compensatory, and statutory damages, plus attorneys’ costs and legal fees.

In the California complaint, plaintiffs Brandon Cubit of Clovis, California, and Latisha Perry of Milton, Vermont, said Facebook’s, Instagram’s, Snapchat’s and TikTok’s image-altering filters create a “false reality,” where users appear “better looking than they are in fact, often in an artificial way.” When teens compare their appearance to edited appearance of others online, “a teen’s perception of their physical features becomes negative,” creating harm to mental health, said the March 22 complaint (docket 23STCV06277) in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Such filters, combined with other product features, “directly cause body image issues, eating disorders, body dysmorphia” and other issues, the complaint said.

Plaintiffs compared Facebook’s “like” and Instagram’s heart buttons to slot machines that space out “dopamine-triggering stimuli” with gaps that allow for “anticipation and craving” that strengthen a user’s “addiction” with each “payout.” Facebook developed an “amplification algorithm,” which considers a post’s like, shares and comments, plus users’ past interactions with similar content, that “operates on the proposition that intense reactions invariably compel attention,” said the complaint. It effectively “works to steer users toward the most negative content.”

Snapchat’s time-limited content creates pressure among teens to use the platform daily to view all their contacts’ stories in a 24-hour window before the content disappears, said the complaint. A “Snap Map” feature that shows the location of other users’ damages teens' self-esteem and mental health, it said, citing a study saying users checked the map to “see where their friends were to avoid exclusion, followed by increased anxiety.” Snap Map is associated with increased feelings of jealously and anger in users, it said.

TikTok’s “flow-like” mode lulls users into a “hypnotic” state, which can distort users’ sense of time so that they “keep watching and watching,” said the complaint. Users keep scrolling because “sometimes you see something you like, and sometimes you don’t,” it said, comparing the experience to playing a slot machine. TikTok, too, has “beauty-enhancing filters, which cause psychological injury in teens” that can lead to eating disorders, self-harm and suicide, it said.

Plaintiff Cubit, now 19, developed a “compulsion to engage” on social media platforms and began getting less sleep, said the complaint. Harms suffered due to excessive use included severe anxiety, body dysmorphia and reduced inclination to sleep, “which may cause or contribute to additional disease,” the plaintiff said. He has developed numerous health conditions as a result of “extensive and problematic use” of social media platforms, said the complaint. Perry, 20, who began using social media platforms as a minor, developed injuries including social media compulsion, periods of suicidal ideation, self-harm, depression, severe anxiety and reduced ability to sleep, the complaint said.

Among plaintiffs’ causes of action are liability and negligence for design and manufacturing defects, said the complaint. The social media products were “unreasonably dangerous, posed a substantial likelihood of harm, and were therefore defective” due to risks of mental health issues including addition, depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide, it said. Defendants also failed to warn users of the dangers social media platforms pose, it said. Plaintiffs claims include negligent misrepresentation, fraud, fraudulent concealment, conspiracy to commit fraud, violation of consumer protection laws, breach of express and implied warranty, fitness for a particular purpose, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligent failure to recall or retrofit and unjust enrichment.

Plaintiffs seek an order that defendants are liable, damages for physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, hospitalization expenses and loss of earning capacity; actual, compensatory, statutory and exemplary damages; medical monitoring costs, litigation costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees.