NJ AG Matt Platkin: Social Media Companies Are the 'Joe Camel' for Kids

Social Media's Harm to Youth

• 🎯 New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin compares social media companies to tobacco companies of the 70s and 80s, calling them the "equivalent of Joe Camel to kids."
• ⚠️ Platkin highlights that social media companies are causing significant harm to a generation of young people, leading to issues like suicide and other problems.
• ⚖️ He notes that 50 states are participating in lawsuits against platforms like TikTok and Meta, and he recently sued Discord for its devastating impact on young users.
• 📱 Massachusetts is also taking action, with legislation proposed to ban cell phones in schools during the school day due to social media app usage contributing to mental health issues, bullying, and harassment.

Social Media's Role in Societal Issues

• 📈 Social media platforms are implicated in empowering fringe groups that espouse violence and in spawning and spreading hate and friction.
• 🚗 A specific example cited is how social media facilitated an epidemic of autotheft among certain car brands by teaching users how to steal them.
• 🗣️ The spread of misinformation on social media is seen as a significant factor contributing to current societal divisions and conflicts.

Legal and Regulatory Challenges

• 🏛️ Platkin points out that social media companies, despite having terms of service and making promises about user safety, often fail to uphold them, which is the core of many lawsuits.
• 🚫 There's a concern that the current administration may have fewer tools to address these issues due to changes in agency deference and Supreme Court rulings.
• 💡 The comparison to big tobacco is made, emphasizing that both industries have business models that thrive on addiction, are aware of the harm they cause, and deny it.
• 🔍 The breakthrough in the big tobacco cases was discovery, revealing internal documents showing awareness of harm and evidence destruction; similar discovery is sought against tech companies.
• 🛡️ While big tech companies have a degree of immunity, AGs are exploring ways to overcome these legal obstacles, similar to how challenges against big tobacco were navigated.