State and local governments in the US are taking legal action against social media companies, blaming them for increasing rates of mental health issues in kids. Utah has passed a law limiting social media for minors, while school districts in Seattle and San Mateo County, California, are suing social media platforms. Congress is also increasing pressure for a ban on TikTok for its alleged harmful impact on kids. Studies, including some of the companies' own internal research, have linked social media use with increased depression among teens. There are nearly 150 product liability lawsuits filed against Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube. However, concerns have been raised that these lawsuits may obscure other factors bothering kids, including the pandemic and national politics. Some use of social media benefits teens' social connections, but there are concerns that important privacy concerns could be tossed aside amid efforts to require identity and age verification as part of new restrictions. It remains to be seen how social media companies will seek to address these issues and how much any single effort to curb their use will impact mental health in kids. See Pushback grows over mental health impacts of social media. It's difficult to tell how much of this is media hype.