Montgomery County has filed a lawsuit against major social media companies, including Meta, Snap, TikTok, and Google, to reduce the negative impact of social media on children’s mental health and well-being.

The county alleges in the complaint that the platforms “contribute to rising rates of anxiety, depression, eating disorders, sleep disorders, loneliness, self-harm, and suicidal ideation among young people”.

From the announcement:

Montgomery County’s 148 public school districts participated in the 2025 Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS), which states “three or more hours of social media usage approximately doubles the risk of depression and anxiety symptoms among youth.” Montgomery County is home to approximately 181,583 minors, according to 2022 population estimates from the U.S. Census, and is the largest jurisdiction in Pennsylvania pursuing litigation against social media companies.

“Research shows that three or more hours of social media usage can double the risk of depression and anxiety symptoms among young people,” county officials said in a post. “These platforms have also been found to contribute to rising rates of eating disorders, sleep disorders, loneliness, self-harm, and suicidal ideation.”

The announcement arrived on the heels of a TIME Magazine report that the same social media companies are facing more than 3,000 lawsuits over allegations that they have deliberately made their platforms addictive to young users.

The lawsuits were filed by states, municipalities, school districts, and individuals, TIME said. They allege that addictive algorithms and harmful online content have led to a rise in depression, anxiety, and body image issues.

In related news, Attorney General Dave Sunday announced on Tuesday the filing of a lawsuit against TikTok, Inc., regarding the company’s failures to shield children from age-inappropriate material and over-usage of the app.

The complaint alleges that “TikTok lies about how often adult-themed material — such as sexual content and nudity, profanity, and drug use — appears on its platform to achieve an age-13+ app rating in App Stores.”

The complaint also alleges that TikTok is aware of the addictiveness and barriers that can be implemented to protect kids but ignores them.

“TikTok has built its empire based on a model of addictiveness at all costs, and expanded that empire using deception about what sort of content is viewable for kids,” Attorney General Sunday said. “This is not an indictment against modern technology, or a scolding assessment of social media as a whole — rather, this is an action to hold accountable a company that values dollars over mental wellness.”

The full complaint is below:

MATT CARDY­—GETTY IMAGES