The state of Utah announced intent to file a lawsuit against social media companies for various harms they’ve done to children. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said at the press conference Monday that social media negatively impacts teens by disrupting sleep, distracting them, and exposing them to various bad influences such as bullying, unrealistic views, peer pressure, and harmful rumors. He added that he feels social media companies are fully aware of the harm and intentionally allow it to continue to encourage more use of their platforms.
Neither the full lawsuit nor a timeline has been made public, though Governor Cox and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said it could be filed as soon as next month. No specific social media company has been named as a target yet. Cox and Reyes said they’re seeking outside attorneys to help in the lawsuit to combat the firepower of social media companies’ well-paid lawyers.
