Attorney General Ellison invites Minnesotans to share stories on social media use and addiction among children and teenagers

November 6, 2023 (SAINT PAUL) - Today, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced that his office is asking Minnesotans to share their stories about the negative effects social media platforms are having on children and teenagers. Minnesotans are encouraged to visit http://www.ag.state.mn.us/social-media to share their experiences of how platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and others are affecting the physical and mental health of young people.

“It’s my job to protect Minnesotans, and right now I am deeply concerned that social media companies are preying on children and teenagers,” said Attorney General Ellison. “If you have a story about how social media has affected a young person in Minnesota, I am asking you to share that with my office. By sharing your stories, you will help us understand the harm these platforms are causing so we can better stop that bad behavior moving forward.”

This story submission drive is the latest effort by Attorney General Ellison’s office to combat the problems caused by the growing influence of various social media platforms. In late October, Attorney General Ellison joined a bipartisan coalition of 42 attorneys general in suing Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. The lawsuit alleges that Meta has been harming the physical and mental health of children and teens by deliberately designed features to addict them.

Last March of 2022, Attorney General Ellison joined a nationwide investigation into whether TikTok’s efforts to boost engagement and screen time among young people violated consumer protection laws. In May of 2021, Attorney General Ellison joined a bipartisan coalition of 44 attorneys general in urging Facebook to abandon its plans to launch a version of Instagram for children under 13.

“We urgently need social media platforms to be responsible actors, given the tremendous power and influence they have,” added Ellison.” Unfortunately, that’s just not happening right now. I will work to ensure these companies see children and teenagers as vulnerable people to be protected, not engines for profit.”