In face of the ongoing mental health crisis among students, school districts and counties across the country have filed lawsuits against social media companies for their negative effects on youth, The Washington Post reported March 19.
Seattle Public Schools sued Instagram, Snapchat, Tik Tok and Youtube in January, the Post reported. Since then, schools and counties in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida have followed suit, with more planning to join.
The plaintiffs claim the companies use machine learning and artificial intelligence to create platforms that are addictive to young people, leading to poor mental health, vandalism, poor body image, cyberbullying and excessive use, according to a complaint filed in federal court by San Mateo County, Calif.
"The way we look at it, it's not unlike the way cigarette companies used to manipulate nicotine levels to make sure that people kept smoking," Bob Harvie, commission chair of Bucks County in Pennsylvania, said in a meeting announcing the county's plan to join those pursuing litigation against the companies March 15. "Our number one priority is just to get the behavior of these companies to change."
The Post said social media companies have not directly commented on the lawsuits but have released statements describing measures taken to protect young users.