Arkansas sues YouTube over claims that the site is fueling a mental health crisis
Arkansas says YouTube is deliberately addictive, fueling a mental health crisis.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas sued YouTube and parent company Alphabet on Monday, saying the video-sharing platform is made deliberately addictive and fueling a mental health crisis among youth in the state.
Attorney General Tim Griffin's office filed the lawsuit in state court, accusing them of violating the state's deceptive trade practices and public nuisance laws. The lawsuit claims the site is addictive and has resulted in the state spending millions on expanded mental health and other services for young people.
“YouTube amplifies harmful material, doses users with dopamine hits, and drives youth engagement and advertising revenue,” the lawsuit said. “As a result, youth mental health problems have advanced in lockstep with the growth of social media, and in particular, YouTube.”
Alphabet's Google, which owns the video service and is also named as a defendant in the case, denied the lawsuit's claims.
“Providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work. In collaboration with youth, mental health and parenting experts, we built services and policies to provide young people with age-appropriate experiences, and parents with robust controls," Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said in a statement. “The allegations in this complaint are simply not true.”
YouTube requires users under 17 to get their parent’s permission before using the site, while accounts for users younger than 13 must be linked to a parental account. But it is possible to watch YouTube without an account, and kids can easily lie about their age.
The lawsuit is the latest in an ongoing push by state and federal lawmakers to highlight
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