On Monday, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin announced his office is suing YouTube and its parent companies Google and Alphabet for deceptively targeting children in Arkansas.

In a statement, the attorney general said,

“YouTube has deceived users and parents about the safety of its platforms for youth. YouTube has profited substantially off young Arkansans because it deliberately designed its platform to be addictive by using features to keep users engaged for as long as possible.

“Google has deliberately designed and marketed YouTube to exploit and addict young users, contributing to a mental health crisis in Arkansas. The majority of children aged 13 to 17 report using YouTube every day.

“One of the gravest public health threats to children in the United States today is the soaring rate of mental and behavioral health disorders, including depression, self-harm, body dysmorphia, and increased suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide. This increase in mental health problems among children is the result of calculated efforts by social-media companies like YouTube to attract and addict youth to their platforms and to grow revenues without regard for the harmful effects that these companies know exist.”

Attorney General Griffin’s office has filed multiple lawsuits against tech companies for violating the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act — most notably Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

The A.G.’s lawsuits against TikTok allege the social media giant aggressively collects sensitive user data and that TikTok failed to fully disclose that the company is subject to Chinese laws that mandate cooperation with intelligence activities of the People’s Republic of China.

The A.G.’s lawsuit against Meta — which owns Facebook and Instagram — argues the company structured its social media platforms “to exploit multiple neuropsychological traits in youth.” It notes that Facebook and Instagram are built around algorithms intentionally designed “to exploit human psychology and foster addiction to maximize users’ screen time.”

As we have written many, many times, social media platforms are not just websites or phone apps. This is a multibillion industry, and the adults who control these companies have a responsibility to ensure their platforms do not harm or exploit children. It’s good to see Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin continuing to hold tech companies accountable.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.