SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 California Attorney General Rob Bonta equated social media giants like Meta, Snap and TikTok to the tobacco industry in public remarks Tuesday, accusing the companies of prioritizing profit over safety by marketing addictive products to kids.<\/p>\n
Bonta\u2019s comments, delivered during a panel discussion at the Common Sense Summit in San Francisco, were his most explicit to date comparing social media to the addictive power of tobacco.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have internal studies where they acknowledge the mental health harms to kids,\u201d Bonta said during a panel moderated by Puck reporter Dylan Byers. \u201cIt\u2019s the hypocrisy, it\u2019s the contrast, it\u2019s the knowing that it\u2019s harmful but claiming that it\u2019s not that I think very much has a lot of similarities with tobacco companies.\u201d<\/p>\n
New Mexico Attorney General Ra\u00fal Torrez, who appeared with Bonta on the panel, said he agreed with the comparison.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a known, addictive product that has been intentionally designed and marketed to children,” Torrez added.<\/p>\n
The verbal jabs from two states\u2019 top prosecutors were notable additions to a growing chorus of criticism from politicians and kids\u2019 safety advocates seeking to draw parallels between Silicon Valley and Big Tobacco. Last year, state lawmakers in California, Colorado, Minnesota and New York passed laws<\/a> that require social media platforms to display health warning labels, inspired by government-mandated warnings for cigarette packs.<\/p>\n Tech industry groups have sued to block the laws from taking effect, arguing they trample on First Amendment speech rights. In Colorado, the industry trade group NetChoice, which counts Meta, TikTok and Snap among its members, secured an early win last year when a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against the state\u2019s warning label law.<\/p>\n