March 21, 2025
Film Will Be Available to Stream on Jolt April 4 with Theatrical Run at DCTV’s Firehouse Cinema in New York; Releases on Bloomberg Media Platforms in July
Directed by award-winning film team Matthew O’Neill and Perri Peltz, based on investigative reporting of award-winning Bloomberg News journalist Olivia Carville
NEW YORK – March 21, 2025 – Bloomberg News announced the April 4 international streaming launch of Can’t Look Away: The Case Against Social Media, a documentary feature film that exposes the real-world consequences of dangerous social media algorithms that exploit and endanger vulnerable young users. The film is produced and directed by the Emmy Award-winning film team Matthew O’Neill and Perri Peltz (“AXIOS on HBO,” “Surveilled” with Ronan Farrow). O’Neill is also a two-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker (“Redemption,” China’s Unnatural Disaster”). The documentary is based on investigative reporting by Bloomberg News’ Olivia Carville on child safety in the digital world. Can’t Look Away will be available to stream on Jolt, the pioneering platform helping independent films reach audiences and generate revenue. The film also begins a theatrical run at DCTV’s Firehouse Cinema in New York on April 4.
View the trailer here: Official trailer Can’t Look Away
Can’t Look Away follows a team of lawyers battling several tech companies, fighting for families whose children suffered devastating harm – suicide, drug overdose, or exploitation – tied to social media. Through emotional testimonies and high-stakes legal battles, the film exposes the tension between corporate profit and child safety, revealing catastrophic failures. As families seek justice, Can’t Look Away serves as a wake-up call about the dangers of social media and the urgent need to protect its youngest users.
In July 2025, the film will debut across Bloomberg’s media platforms.
“This documentary tells the painful stories of families seeking justice for their loved ones who have suffered unimaginable harm,” said Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait. “Can’t Look Away, which draws on Olivia Carville’s extensive reporting, shines a much needed light on the way that tech giants still try to avoid responsibility for the content on their platforms, despite the enormously addictive power of the algorithms that they have built.”
“We all have a sense that social media is vaguely bad for kids – we thought so too,” explains filmmaker O’Neill, “but making this film has revealed the full extent of the harm.”
“This isn’t just a tech problem – it’s a full-blown public health disaster, and we’re only beginning to grasp the consequences,” says filmmaker Peltz, who holds a Doctorate in Public Health.
“We created Jolt precisely for films like Can’t Look Away – compelling stories exploring complex issues that deserve a platform to reach a global audience,” said Tara Hein-Phillips, CEO and co-founder of Jolt. “Our platform ensures that films like this not only reach their full audience potential, but also empower their creators with data, ownership and revenue in order to support future filmmaking. Can’t Look Away brings awareness to one of the greatest crises of our time – social media’s detrimental impact on children – and we’re proud to play a role in delivering its important message to parents everywhere.”
Read Carville’s reporting on child safety online for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Businessweek here. Carville has won a George Polk Award, the WERT Global Prize, a New York Press Club Award, a Front Page Award and more honors in journalism for her work on this subject matter.
Can’t Look Away is produced by DCTV for Bloomberg Originals and Bloomberg Businessweek Films. O’Neill and Peltz direct and produce. Carville is a contributing producer. The film is edited by David Meneses, produced by Anna Casper and has original music by Jonathan Zalben.
About Bloomberg Media
Bloomberg Media is the world’s leading multi-platform media company for business and finance, which draws on the editorial resources of more than 3,000 journalists and analysts in more than 100 bureaus around the world. Bloomberg Media is the consumer-facing media organization of Bloomberg L.P.
About DCTV
Downtown Community Television Center (DCTV) is one of the leading documentary production and film education centers in the country. DCTV’s productions have been recognized with two Academy Award Nominations, 18 National Emmy Awards, four duPont-Columbia Awards, a Peabody Award, and accolades at film festivals and competitions around the world. In 2022, DCTV opened Firehouse: DCTV’s Cinema for Documentary Film in its landmark firehouse home in Manhattan’s Chinatown.
About Jolt
Jolt is transforming the way independent films are distributed, while restoring creative sovereignty to filmmakers. Through proprietary AI-driven audience discovery, Jolt connects extraordinary films to audiences with strategic curation, marketing and distribution. Co-founded by former Sundance Chief Digital Officer Tara Hein-Phillips, Accel founder Jim Swartz, and Academy Award-winning producer Geralyn Dreyfous, Jolt helps independent films achieve their full potential while empowering film teams with data, marketing tools and all future rights for their work. Jolt’s curated platform features exceptional independent films like “The Bibi Files” and “Hollywoodgate,” and more.
For more information, visit jolt.film or follow us on YouTube.