The Chickasaw Nation is the latest tribe to sue social media companies for harming youth.
Law360 (September 16, 2025, 8:55 PM EDT) - The Chickasaw Nation on Monday became the latest Native American tribe to lodge claims against social media giants in California federal court, alleging that the platforms harm their youth who are already at risk of mental health problems and suicidal ideation.
The tribe, headquartered in Oklahoma where most of its members live, says that social media use has significantly fed the existing mental health crisis afflicting young Indigenous people. The platforms — such as Facebook and TikTok — know that Native American youth are already vulnerable, the Chickasaw Nation said. But despite this knowledge, they have designed their platforms to addict young people and profit from them, according to the complaint.
"The effects of social media addiction have been felt significantly among the youth of The Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma … whose chronically underfunded health and welfare programs have been pushed to their breaking points by this new crisis," the tribe said.
The Chickasaw Nation said that the mental health problems allegedly caused by social media are exacerbated by a history of oppression and violence, and the "most insidious and brutal cruelties" were against tribal children, taken from their homes and put into boarding schools to strip them from their culture.
"The impact of these historical exposures is long-lasting and intergenerational," the tribe said. "The result of the traumas inflicted on generations of Native children is the persistent poverty, substance abuse disorders, and socioeconomic disparity endemic to modern Native communities."
The nation's already underfunded health and welfare resources are now being pushed to their limits by the problems caused by the alleged social media addiction, according to the complaint.
Youth use of social media can cause sleep deprivation and heighten peer pressure, damaging their development, according to the complaint.
Among tribal youth, using social media is "compulsive," the nation said. According to a 2020 survey on Native youth health, about 65% of young tribal members spent three to seven hours a day on social media, with a large majority saying that they spent most of their time on the apps scrolling and watching videos, according to the complaint.
"The Chickasaw Nation community has seen a rise in anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts among its youth, leading to increased delinquency and behavioral issues," the nation said. "Many young people struggle with time management and impulse control related to social media use, expressing fear and anxiety over online posts."
The suit joins a number of tribal challenges against social media that kicked off in 2024, when Robins Kaplan LLP in April became the first firm to represent federally recognized tribes in cases slamming the harmful effects of social media use on youth, according to the firm.
In January, the White Mountain Apache Tribe launched a similar lawsuit against the social media companies.
"The tribe brings this lawsuit after numerous shocking revelations by whistleblowers within the social media industry: that social media companies designed their products to be addictive, and that the products have contributed to a growing mental health crisis among children and adolescents," the White Mountain Apache Tribe said.
The suits target the algorithms on the social media apps, allegedly designed to hook users to profit from targeted advertisements.
The tribe alleges violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, and brings public nuisance and fraud claims, among others. Read More.