Arkansas targets YouTube in lawsuit over youth mental health crisis

Social media addiction is one of the most common addictions among young people. Authorities in Arkansas have decided to tackle this problem by implementing serious measures. Currently, they are targeting YouTube, and the app's producers have faced strong allegations.

Social media has revolutionized how we communicate, work, and spend our free time. While they have undeniable advantages, there is increasing concern about their harmful impact on mental health and interpersonal relationships. This particularly refers to their pressure on young audiences, the cult of comparing oneself to media personalities, and the increasingly common addiction to engaging apps. Authorities in one US state have decided to take matters into their own hands. The app producers of YouTube have faced strong allegations.

Arkansas is in the southeastern part of the USA, bordering states such as Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Arkansas authorities are horrified by the number of young people addicted to social media. They believe that the apps that overstimulate the youth are responsible for most negative effects. Previously, they sued TikTok and Meta. Now, it's YouTube's turn.

In September this year, Arkansas authorities filed a lawsuit against YouTube and its parent company, Alphabet (owner of Google, among others), arguing that the site deliberately contributes to the escalating mental health crises among young people. The lawsuit reads: "YouTube amplifies harmful content, floods users with dopamine, and drives youth engagement and advertising revenue. As a result, the mental health problems among young people are developing at the same pace as the growth of social media, particularly YouTube."

The company strongly denies these allegations and claims they are false. Additionally, it emphasizes that it does everything to ensure that parents of young people have control over what their children are viewing on the platform. Spokesperson Jose Castaneda assured the media in an official statement: "Ensuring safer, healthier experiences for young people has always been at the core of our work. In collaboration with youth, mental health, and parenting experts, we have created services and policies to provide age-appropriate experiences for young people and robust controls for parents."