Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

On the morning of January 9, Beijing time, it was reported that the Seattle Public School District in the United States had filed a lawsuit against large technology companies, claiming that these companies were responsible for the deterioration of the mental health crisis among teenagers and directly affected the ability of schools to carry out their educational mission.

Technology companies such as Alphabet, Meta platform and Snap deliberately designed products to attract young people to their platforms and cause mental health risks to students, according to a complaint filed in US District Court on Friday.

Google responded in an email statement that it had invested heavily in creating a safe experience for children on its platform and introduced "strong protection measures and specialized features to give priority to children's health". Snap says the company works closely with many mental health organizations to provide users with in-app tools and resources, and the well-being of the community is its top priority.

Meta didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the past, these companies have said their goal is to create a pleasant experience for users, eliminate harmful content, and invest in moderation and content control.

The lawsuit claims that the behavior of these companies is an important factor leading to the mental health crisis of teenagers.

"the defendant successfully used the fragile brains of young people to attract tens of millions of students across the country into a positive feedback loop of the defendant's overuse and abuse of social media platforms," the lawsuit said. "

The complaint alleges that students with mental health problems perform worse, leading schools to take measures, including training teachers to identify and address such symptoms, hiring trained people and creating additional resources to warn students about the dangers of social media.

The lawsuit seeks compensation for economic losses and other penalties.

In 2021, after whistleblower Frances Haugen testified, US lawmakers accused Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg of promoting higher profits at the expense of children's mental health. Facebook insists it disagrees with Hogan's description that the company failed to protect teenage girls on Instagram.

"it's totally illogical to say that we deliberately push content that makes people angry for profit," he responded on his Facebook page. "We make money from advertising, and advertisers keep telling us that they don't want their ads next to harmful or angry content. I don't know any technology company that will launch products that make people angry or frustrated."

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