New Hampshire Sues TikTok: Social Media and the Mental Health of Children

By Scott Merrill

Social media, as of late, has become nearly synonymous with harm to children’s mental health – and lawsuits. This is due to a growing body of research correlating mental health risks in children with social media usage as well as a host of state and federal lawsuits going after companies like Meta and TikTok for violating consumer protection laws.

In late June, New Hampshire joined other states, including Tennessee, Indiana, Arkansas, and Utah, that have filed suits against the social media giant, TikTok, a Chinese company owned by ByteDance, Ltd. Like some of the others, New Hampshire’s suit alleges TikTok continues to violate the state’s consumer protection law through deceptive design features that are addictive and unhealthy for young users.

New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a statement after the suit was filed in June that TikTok deceived New Hampshire families with “false assurances of safety, while profiting from the vulnerabilities of its youngest users,” and that the State will “vigorously pursue this case to ensure that TikTok is held responsible and that meaningful changes are made to protect our children’s well-being.”

Suits Against Meta and TikTok

          New Hampshire’s TikTok suit follows a complaint the State filed against Meta Platforms, Inc., in October 2023, alleging similar manipulative design features that have led to excessive use for children. Forty-one states and Washington, DC are suing Meta in federal court, alleging the tech giant harms children by building addictive features into Instagram and Facebook that negatively impact children’s mental health. Florida, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, and the District of Columbia are filing related actions in state courts.

The lawsuits – which allege consumer protection violations – are the culmination of public and political concern about the impact of social media on young people beginning in 2021, which included congressional hearings and multiple research studies. Many of these studies focus on cyberbullying and screentime while making connections between social media use and mental health outcomes for children.

Each state and the District of Columbia have their own consumer protection laws – known as Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices statutes – that were written broadly in the 1970s and 1980s to encompass new technologies.

New Hampshire Assistant Attorney General Mary Stewart says TikTok, as with other digital platforms, knows its product causes harm to its young users, including depression, anxiety, and isolation from friends and family. She cites a 2023 advisory about social media by the US Surgeon General that illustrates these dangers.

“The ephemeral content and the endless stream of notifications are designed to keep eyes on the app all the time,” she says. “The surgeon general has said kids are more susceptible to these types of features because their brain is not fully developed and it’s harder for them to resist these design features.”

In April 2023, Governor Chris Sununu signed an executive order directing a statewide investigation and response to the impact of social media on youth.

“New Hampshire puts our kids first,” he said in a statement. “[The Meta] lawsuit, combined with our earlier executive order investigating the harms of social media on New Hampshire’s youth is another wakeup call for parents on the dangers that social media presents to our kids.”

Meta filed a motion to dismiss New Hampshire’s suit, arguing the company is immune from liability under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and the First Amendment. Courts in Utah, Arkansas, and Tennessee have all denied Meta’s motions to dismiss. As of July 24, Stewart said a court order had not been released on Meta’s motion to dismiss.

Stewart says the State does not believe its TikTok case – or the Meta case – presents any infringement on free speech.

“We’re not talking about content; we’re talking about design features of the product, and it’s our position that that it’s not an infringement on free speech,” she says, adding an extension until August 8 was granted in July to determine whether an agreement could be made between parties to un-redact portions of the State’s complaint against TikTok.

Youth Mental Health and Social Media

          The 2023 US Surgeon General’s Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health cites research showing the introduction of a social media platform into children’s lives may have contributed to more than 300,000 new cases of depression nationwide in 2021. The Advisory also states that 95 percent of youth ages 13 to 17 report using a social media platform, with more than a third saying they use social media “almost constantly,” and nearly 40 percent of children ages 8 to 12 use social media.

New Hampshire NAMI Director Susan Stearns says the data is very clear on the negative impacts social media can have on children and she believes regulation is valid, but she explains that digital platforms can be sources of good.

“These platforms are structured to trigger chemicals in our brains to keep people engaged but they also provide access to supports that people need,” she says. “And for some youth, social media may be the only place they are finding affirmation.”

Stearns says she would like to see more nuanced conversations around the risks posed by social media for the parents of children.

“We often revert to the idea that social media is bad for kids, and I argue it isn’t very healthy for parents either,” she says. “We need to work with parents because we’re about to pivot to a point where most parents will be digital natives themselves.”

Creating occasions for parents that foster attachment with children is fundamental to mental health, Stearns says.

“When you’re looking at your phone, you’re not paying attention to the child,” she says. “Beyond the legal issues and lawsuits, we need to talk about what healthy relationships look like. As much as we might all be addicted to apps and smart phones, we are social creatures programmed to want to have social interaction.”

Stewart says the dangers children confront in American society can be seen on a continuum and that social media is inherently different from many other common dangers.

“People say, ‘high sugar cereals are bad for kids too, right?’ Cigarettes are also bad for kids, and as a society we’ve decided we’re going to put restrictions on kids smoking cigarettes and advertisements to children about smoking,” she says. “[Social media] is just a different level of danger.”

One way parents can form a healthy relationship with their children around social media use is to be curious about their child’s social media use.

“I always tell parents to make the time to have conversations about what your teens are looking at,” Stewart says. “If you see concerning things, you can raise questions and do some of your own research. It’s about engaging with your kids and that’s what being a parent is all about.”