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Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed a Monday against Google, YouTube and their parent companies, accusing the digital behemoths of intentionally targeting children with addictive and harmful content.

The complaint, filed in Phillips County Circuit Court, is the latest in state officials鈥� ongoing efforts to regulate social media鈥檚 impact on minors, such as a 2023 currently .

Griffin鈥檚 40-page suit alleges that YouTube 鈥渁mplifies harmful material, doses users with dopamine hits, and drives youth engagement and advertising revenue鈥� through its many programs, including the youth-oriented YouTube Kids. The platform takes advantage of the 鈥渦ndeveloped capacity for self-regulation鈥� in minors鈥� still-developing brains, making them 鈥減articularly vulnerable to chasing the stimuli of social media, e.g. YouTube notifications and 鈥榣ikes,鈥欌�� the complaint states.

鈥淵ouTube鈥檚 addictive power over Arkansas youth is devastating and has resulted in the State of Arkansas being forced to pour millions of dollars into expanding mental health and other services for young people living here,鈥� the complaint states.

Griffin emphasized during a news conference Monday morning that he meant to discuss addiction 鈥渋n a clinical way, not in a colloquial way.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e not talking about it in the loose way that you may say, 鈥楾hat food is so good I鈥檓 addicted to it.鈥� 鈥� It is something more sinister than that,鈥� Griffin said.

Google is the managing member of YouTube. The other two defendants are Google鈥檚 parent company, XXVI Holdings, and its parent company, Alphabet Inc.

In addition to a jury trial and monetary damages, Griffin asks the court to order the defendants 鈥渢o disgorge and forfeit all profits鈥� that resulted from their alleged misdeeds and 鈥渢o fund prevention education and treatment for excessive and problematic use of social media.鈥�

Griffin鈥檚 complaint accuses the defendants of violating the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which generates fines of up to $10,000 per violation.

鈥淒efendants led users and the parents of young users to believe their social media platforms were safe for use by young people, including through the release of the YouTube Kids product,鈥� the complaint states.

The complaint also accuses the companies of unjust enrichment for 鈥渕onetiz[ing] the screen time of Arkansas鈥� citizens鈥� and of being a public nuisance under state law for creating 鈥渁 mental health crisis.鈥�

Other state action

Since taking office last year, Griffin and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders have both attributed mental health problems among children, such as depression, body dysmorphia and suicidal ideation, to frequent social media use.

Sanders and Education Secretary Jacob Oliva have limiting students鈥� use of cell phones in schools, and lawmakers have to school districts for the resources to lock up students鈥� devices during class time.

Earlier this month, Griffin and 41 other attorneys general signed a letter to federal lawmakers asking them to on 鈥渁ll algorithm-driven social media platforms鈥� citing the risk of addiction.

Griffin is the sole plaintiff in Monday鈥檚 complaint against YouTube. He told reporters that 鈥渢he lack of progress and the pace鈥� of lawsuits with multiple attorneys general as plaintiffs frustrates him and he hopes for a quick resolution.

He is also the sole plaintiff in a March 2023 lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, in Cleburne County Circuit Court. Similarly to Monday鈥檚 lawsuit, last year鈥檚 complaint accuses the defendants of targeting minors with harmful content, profiting from engagement with said content and deceiving users into believing the platform is safe.

A circuit judge denied TikTok鈥檚 motion to dismiss the case in May, and the case is set to go to trial in September 2025, according to court documents.

When asked why his office has filed its complaints in different counties statewide, Griffin said he had 鈥渋ndividual reasons鈥� for doing so, but revealing them 鈥渨ould not be smart in litigation.鈥�

The 2023 social media age verification law, , would require parental permission for minors to access certain websites, but YouTube is one of the exceptions.

Attorneys for NetChoice, the nonprofit trade association for large tech companies that brought the lawsuit, said the law was not narrowly tailored. U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks agreed in his order issuing a preliminary injunction, while acknowledging the importance of protecting minors online.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: [email protected]. Follow Arkansas Advocate on and .

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