Utah gears up for costly legal war on social media companies

• Reyes said the state has been investigating the platforms for a "significant amount of time."

Reality check: Cox and Reyes declined to say which social media companies they were investigating or planned to sue and did not provide a timeline for filing.

The big picture: Cox likened social media companies' awareness of their negative mental health consequences on young users to pharmaceutical companies that knew opioids were addictive and widely abused.

• "Still, they do nothing," he said. "These dire consequences, as I've said many times, require action."

Reyes said the state is preparing to seek outside counsel.

• "In addition to needing the manpower and the help, it also helps to have law firms with experience on a national level that have potentially sued similar companies," he said."The costs will be well worth the protection of our children."

Flashback: The move comes more than a month after Cox banned TikTok, a popular video sharing app, on state-owned devices via executive order, citing cybersecurity concerns.

What's next: Cox and Republican state lawmakers are advocating for legislation that would require age verification when setting up new social media accounts and restrict such companies from gathering data from minors.