- Details
- By Elyse Wild
The Nation filed suit on September 15, 2025, against companies that own social media platforms, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube. The suit alleges that the social media companies exploit the unique vulnerabilities of Native youth, leading to a suicide crisis that threatens the long-term vitality of tribal communities.
While suicide rates among young people in the United States have risen since the mid-2000s — 62% overall from 2007 to 2021 — Native youth die by suicide at higher rates than their non-Native peers, at 2.5 times the national average. It is the second leading cause of death for Native Americans ages 10-24.
In 2023, the United States Surgeon General issued a warning that excessive social media use by children can lead to changes in the part of the brain that regulates emotions and learning, can affect impulse control and social behavior, and can lead to depression.
That same year, a former Facebook employee testified before Congress that for years, Meta's top executives had ignored warnings of the adverse effects of social media on teenage users.
The Nation is alleging that companies knowingly designed their products to be addictive, and is seeking compensation proportionate to the resources it has allocated toward mitigating the adverse mental health effects of social media.
In 2014, the Nation launched "Zero Suicide," a suicide prevention program.
Half a dozen Tribal Nations have sued social media companies for their role in increasing youth suicide rates, including the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Spirit Lake Tribe, Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, White Mountain Apache Tribe, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and Oglala Sioux Tribe
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