accused of harming the pupils' mental health

US educational officials are suing the technology giants

“Facebook” is among the companies facing accusations of causing psychological problems and disorders for children.

Reuters

Officials from public schools in the US city of Seattle have filed a complaint against social networks such as “Facebook” and “Tik Tok”, accusing them of negatively affecting the mental health of young users.

This complaint targets “Facebook” and “Instagram” belonging to the Meta network, but also “Snapchat” and “YouTube”, in addition to the platform, TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, and Google, which is affiliated with the Alphabet network.

Public school officials in the city, located in the state of Washington in the northwest of the United States, said they wanted to "hold the companies that own social media accountable for the harm they cause to the social, emotional and mental health of students," according to a statement.

The statement added, "The increase in suicides, suicide attempts, and admissions to the emergency department for reasons related to mental health is not a coincidence. This crisis was exacerbating before the pandemic, and research has concluded that social networks play a major role in the emergence of mental health problems in young people."

In this complaint filed on Friday and seen by Agence France-Presse on Sunday, the plaintiffs accused these companies of exploiting “the psychological state of their users and their neurophysiology to push them to spend more time on their platforms, which created a mental health crisis among American youth.”

In contact with Agence France-Presse, Meta Network said it had "developed more than 30 tools to support teens and families, including moderation tools that allow parents to limit the time their teens spend on Instagram, and verification technology that helps teens get age-appropriate experiences." According to the network's safety officer, Antigone Davis.

"We will continue to work closely with experts, policy makers and parents on these important issues," she added in an emailed comment.

For its part, “Google” indicated that it “has invested heavily in creating safe experiences for children on our platforms,” and “provided strong protections and features dedicated to prioritizing their well-being,” according to network spokesman Jose Castaneda.

• Prosecutors accused the companies of exploiting the psychological state of their users and their neurophysiology to push them to spend more time on their platforms, which created a mental health crisis among American youth.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news