Minnesota Lawsuit Accuses Social Media Companies of Harming Native American’s Mental Health

Publish Date : 11/05/2024

A lawsuit accusing social media companies of harming the mental health of Native American youth is front and center in a courtroom on Monday.

The 164-page suit against Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube and other platforms was filed earlier this year by several tribal nations, including Minnesota’s Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and two other tribes in the Dakotas.

The lawsuit claims parent companies to some of the most popular social media sites — including Alphabet, ByteDance, Meta and Snap — have violated Minnesota’s laws against public nuisance, negligence, deceptive trade practice and unfair or unconscionable acts.

The allegations include how the social media mammoths failed to disclose or warn users of the negative mental health consequences associated with social media use, especially for children and adolescents.

It also claims the companies knew the longer users are on the platform, the more likely they would be exposed to content that is violent, sexual or encourages self-harm based on the sites’ algorithms.