States target social media companies over kids’ health, safety as Congress hesitates

AXIOS October 5, 2024
April Rubin

Attorneys general of three states in less than a week revealed separate lawsuits against social media giants for their platforms’ alleged harmful effects on children, including sextortion, addiction and privacy violations.

Why it matters: Federal, state and local authorities have targeted Big Tech accountability over youth mental health concerns.

• “You see a huge variety of approaches to trying to solve this problem,” Josh Golin, executive director of Fairplay, a nonprofit aimed at ending marketing toward children, told Axios, referring to both government and private action against social media companies.

State of play: State attorneys general, most recently, sued TikTok, Snap and YouTube, alleging culpability in risks to children’s safety or wellbeing. All this week:

• Texas Attorney General...

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