Arkansas targets YouTube over youth mental health concerns

Social media has revolutionized how we communicate, work, and spend our free time. While it has undeniable advantages, there is increasing talk about its harmful impact on mental health and interpersonal relationships. This particularly refers to the pressure it exerts on young audiences, the cult of comparing oneself to media personalities, and the increasingly common addictions to engaging apps. Authorities in one of the U.S. states have decided to take matters into their own hands. The app producers of YouTube have faced strong allegations.

Arkansas is a state located in the southeastern part of the USA. It borders states such as Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Arkansas authorities are horrified by the number of young people addicted to social media. They believe that the apps, which overstimulate youth, are responsible for most of the negative effects. Previously, they sued TikTok and Meta. Now, it’s YouTube’s turn.

In September this year, Arkansas authorities filed a lawsuit against YouTube and its parent company, Alphabet (owner of Google, among others), arguing that the site deliberately contributes to the escalating mental health crises among young people. The lawsuit reads: "YouTube amplifies harmful material, doses users with dopamine hits, and drives youth engagement and advertising revenue. As a result, youth mental health problems have advanced in lockstep with the growth of social media, and in particular, YouTube."

The company strongly denies the allegations. It claims that the allegations are false. Additionally, it emphasizes that it does everything to ensure that parents of young people have control over what their children are viewing on the platform. Spokesperson Jose Castaneda assured the media in an official statement: "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."