Utah Gov. Spencer Cox believes there’s a common thread connecting the recent acts of political violence in the United States: social media.
In the wake of last week’s fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, Cox said social media is fueling division, implicating them directly in Kirk’s death and other recent assassination attempts.
His comments come as a growing number of states sue tech companies over the impact their products have on young people, arguing that the algorithms are addictive and harmful to their mental health.
“I believe that social media has played a direct role in every single assassination and assassination attempt we’ve seen over the last five, six years. There is no question in my mind,” Cox told NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’ on Sunday. “Cancer probably isn’t a strong enough word. What we have done to our kids. It has taken us a decade to understand how evil these algorithms really are.”
Cox said social media users are “addicted to outrage” and blamed social media companies for supplying it.
“I can’t emphasize enough the damage that social media and the internet is doing to all of us,” Cox said. “Some of the most powerful companies in the history of the world have figured out how to hack our brains, get us addicted to outrage — which is the same type of dopamine, the same chemical you get from taking fentanyl — and get us to hate each other.”
He added, “I’m seeing it in real time in the tragic death of Charlie Kirk. I’m seeing it in every corner of our society. The conflict entrepreneurs are taking advantage of us, and we are losing our agency.”
Cox, a 50-year-old sixth-generation Utahn who became governor in 2021, received his law degree from Washington and Lee University in 2001. The official bio for Cox, a Republican, describes him as a “national voice on protecting youth from the harms of social media.” Utah passed two laws in 2024 aimed at protecting minors on social media platforms.
While social media is a ubiquitous part of life for people of all ages, many US states have sued social media companies like Meta and TikTok to stop them from using tactics legislators deem exploitative to children.
In 2023, 33 US states sued Meta over what they said was the harm those companies are causing to young people’s mental health. The lawsuit, filed in a California federal court, said Meta intentionally designed Facebook and Instagram features that are addictive to children.
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At the time, Meta said in a statement that the company was “disappointed that instead of working productively with companies across the industry to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps teens use, the attorneys general have chosen this path.”
In 2024, 14 attorneys general also filed lawsuits against TikTok, saying the app misled the public about its safety and harmed young people’s mental health. Minnesota became the latest state to sue TikTok in August.
A TikTok spokesperson told NPR last year that TikTok had implemented new safety features for minors.
“We provide robust safeguards, proactively remove suspected underage users, and have voluntarily launched safety features such as default screentime limits, family pairing, and privacy by default for minors under 16,” the spokesperson said. “We’ve endeavored to work with the Attorneys General for over two years, and it is incredibly disappointing they have taken this step rather than work with us on constructive solutions to industry-wide challenges.”
During the interview, Cox said Americans must unify to change the current trajectory.
“We have to get back to community, caring about our neighbors, the things that make America great,” he said.
Representatives for Cox, Meta, TikTok, and X did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
