There’s no denying that social media platforms can be taxing as users spend hours mindlessly scrolling and watching a variety of short and long videos. Now, a Canadian man is suing Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok for being “too addictive.”
The 24-year-old man from Montreal claims he started using social media in 2015 and has since had productivity issues and developed a negative attitude towards his body, reports the Dexerto website. He claims he limits his social media use to two hours a day, but the apps continue to interfere with his productivity and sleep.
Montreal-based law firm Lambert Avocats is reportedly handling the lawsuit, which singled out TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, arguing that the platforms are designed to increase the release of dopamine, which leads to addiction, and that the companies were “negligent” in designing their apps because they wanted users to become addicted.
In June, New York State passed two laws aimed at protecting children from social media addiction. The Child-Safe Addictive Feed Exploitation Prevention Act reportedly prohibits social media companies from notifying minors about addictive feeds between the hours of 12:00 AM and 6:00 AM and requires them to restrict access to addictive feeds for users under the age of 18.
Meanwhile, New York State’s Children’s Data Protection Act prohibits Internet companies from collecting, using, disclosing or selling personal information about anyone under the age of 18, unless they have written permission or it is essential to the operation of their website.