Sonoma County sues all major social media giants
Sonoma County sues social media companies for harming youth
Sonoma County supervisors claim nearly 100,000 minors in the area have been uniquely harmed by social media. Now the county is joining San Mateo and San Diego counties in a federal lawsuit that accuses social media companies of violating the Federal Racketeering Act and unfair business practices.
SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. - Saying that some 94,000 minors, in Sonoma County alone, have been ‘uniquely harmed’ by social media, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors have signed on to a major lawsuit with two other California counties against an army of social media giants. This is happening while 33 states are suing Meta for being a public nuisance and negligent for similar reasons.
While social media looks to a new era of less government involvement from the Trump administration, it's gearing up its lawyers for epic legal battles.
Sonoma County, joined San Mateo and San Diego counties in a federal lawsuit that accuses social media giants of violating the Federal Racketeering Act and unfair business practices.
The defendants are Meta's Facebook and Instagram, TikTok, Google, Roblox, Snap, Siculus, YouTube, Discord and others.
Professor Mark Kaplan, a social welfare and preventative medicine expert at UCLA's School of Public Policy says, though social media has many good qualities, it can do great harm to youngsters.
"There is impact of social media on kids' well-being; mental health in particular, and by kids' well-being, we're talking about kids' depression, depressive symptoms, suicidality, self harm and suicidality," said Kaplan.
Between 2021 and August of 2023, fueled by pandemic isolation, adolescent depression increased by 13.1%; that's a lot of young folks.
"How much of that is attributed to social media exposure is somewhat unknown, but I suspect it has only exacerbated the problem; uncensored, unchecked," said Kaplan. "The saddest thing about this is that you could make social media 80% safer with the flip of a switch. You could make these changes in a week, and they're not doing it, and they're not doing it simply because it would cost them some money," said attorney Matthew Bergman, Founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center.
At the moment, the courts have more clout than academia. "We are in an era now of deregulation, in an era we are defunding. All you have to do is look what's happening at the NIH (National Institutes of Health)," said Kaplan.
Older folks we spoke with say it's about time to set rules for social media if they would do it effectively on their own.
"I think Sonoma County should get involved and join the class action lawsuit to help protect our children. Sure," said Santa Rosan Alex Leibert.
Dominic Maciel, a member of the younger, social media generation sees it this way. "I don't think it's the social media platform's like responsibility for the kids. It's just where they have the age ranges and everything. They have an anti-harassment-like policy with them and I just don't think it's necessarily their fault," said Maciel.
It will be up to a jury to decide, but if social media loses, there will be appeals galore.
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