Arkansas sues YouTube over youth mental health crisis

THE STATE OF ARKANSAS IS SUING YOUTUBE ALLEGING THE VIDEO SHARING PLATFORM CONTRIBUTES TO A YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS.

ARKANSAS ATTORNEY GENERAL TIM GRIFFIN FILED A CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWSUIT IN STATE COURT AGAINST GOOGLE AND YOUTUBE AND THEIR PARENT COMPANY ALPHABET — ACCUSING THE TECH GIANTS OF DELIBERATELY TARGETING CHILDREN WITH ADDICTIVE CONTENT.

THE LAWSUIT CLAIMS YOUTUBE’S ADDICTIVE NATURE HAS RESULTED IN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN EXPANDED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR YOUNG ARKANSANS, RAISING CONCERNS ABOUT THE PLATFORM’S IMPACT ON PUBLIC HEALTH.

THE LAWSUIT ALLEGES VIOLATIONS OF ARKANSAS’ DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES AND PUBLIC NUISANCE LAWS, WHICH COULD RESULT IN FINES OF UP TO $10,000 PER VIOLATION.

YOUTUBE’S ALGORITHMS HAVE BEEN UNDER SCRUTINY FOR POTENTIALLY STEERING YOUNG USERS TOWARD INAPPROPRIATE ADULT CONTENT AND CONTRIBUTING TO THE SPREAD OF CHILD EXPLOITATION MATERIAL.

IN AN EFFORT TO MITIGATE RISKS, YOUTUBE RECENTLY IMPLEMENTED POLICY CHANGES, SUCH AS RESTRICTING FIREARM-RELATED CONTENT TO USERS 18 AND OLDER.

IN A STATEMENT, A SPOKESPERSON FOR GOOGLE SAID: “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.”

WHILE YOUTUBE HAS AGE RESTRICTIONS, THE LAWSUIT POINTS OUT THAT YOUNG USERS CAN EASILY MISREPRESENT THEIR AGE, EXPOSING THEM TO HARMFUL CONTENT DESPITE EXISTING SAFEGUARDS.

EARLIER THIS YEAR, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL VIVEK MURTHY CALLED FOR CONGRESS TO MANDATE WARNING LABELS ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, SIMILAR TO THOSE ON CIGARETTE BOXES.