LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada’s state attorney general has launched a go-it-alone legal fight against five popular social media platforms, alleging they have created, in one instance “an addiction machine,” and that they deliberately exploit children too young to have a capacity for self-control.
A trio of lawsuits filed in state court in Las Vegas seek unspecified damages from TikTok, Snapchat and Meta Platforms, the owner of Instagram, Facebook and Messenger, on claims including deceptive trade practices and negligence.
“All of these platforms use features … to maximize youth use, manipulate young emotions, and exploit children’s developing minds — all for massive financial gain,” state Attorney General Aaron Ford said in a statement about the lawsuits filed Tuesday.
“Each of these platforms has also been linked to serious dangers to kids, including auto accidents, increases in drug overdoses, suicides, eating disorders, sexual exploitation and more,” the statement said.
The lawsuits were filed just ahead of testimony in Congress on Wednesday by top executives of Meta, TikTok, Snap Inc. and other platforms.