For too long the social media giants have gotten away with an unchecked power able to reach millions of people without consequence.
Matthew P. Bergman: “They’ve made a deliberate decision to do the bare minimum to keep their high profits and that’s why we want to hold them accountable in a court of law.”
U.S. lawyer Matthew P. Bergman has met many parents whose children’s lives were tragically cut short and he’s planning to sue snapchat and other online apps on their behalf.
He believes social media is an addiction that sadly children are drawn into.
Matthew P. Bergman: “What we understand is the way the dopamine response works in the brain is the same dopamine response if someone takes a bump of cocaine and children don’t have the capacity to control that.”
Do parents actually know how long their kids are spending on social media or even what they’re doing on social media?
Matthew P. Bergman: “They don’t know and kids are on social media all hours of the day or night. The fact is, the internet is here to stay. This is not a question of taking phones away from kids, that’s just not practical. What is practical is to have these platforms safe. Some of them, like Snapchat in particular, with the disappearing messages is explicitly designed to thwart parental authority, and you know, kids will be kids.”
Legally Edited and Fact-Checked by:
Matthew P. Bergman, Founding Attorney, SMVLC
