The case targets the biggest social media companies, accusing them of negligence resulting in a youth mental health crisis.
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A national lawsuit is accusing the largest social media companies of harming adolescents. The Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation (BCSC) in Columbus joined the case this month. It was filed in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California.
The BCSC unanimously agreed to join the case at a Jan. 8 school board meeting. The school previously joined a similar lawsuit against Juul and Altria focusing on the harm vaping devices caused to schools and students. The BCSC received about $300,000 to implement vaping reduction measures in the school and community, according to Superintendent Jim Roberts.
“The two things probably consuming the most time of our administrators right now are [vaping and social media],” he said. “They were manufactured by adults, and we think that there can be some things done by adults to reduce the harm that they're creating.”
The multidistrict litigation suit, similar to a class action lawsuit, is represented by law firm Wagstaff & Cartmell, which also represented BCSC’s case against Juul.
The case targets the biggest social media companies — TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook — for negligence resulting in a “youth mental health crisis.”
Social media companies created and marketed their platforms to get as many youth addicted as possible.
The platforms use self-reporting age verification measures, allowing them to “turn a blind eye to collecting children’s data in violation of Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA),” according to the complaint.
Youth are more susceptible to influencing forces on these platforms, which can diminish their self-worth. Among other mental and physical side effects, this can lead to suicidal ideation, eating disorders and anxiety.
Roberts says he’s seen the negative effects of social media play out in BCSC schools.
“Some threat can be made, or something else happens with social media, outside of the school day,” he said. “And those problems persist and come into the school the next day.”
The complaint’s allegations are supported by the U.S. Surgeon General’s 2023 Social Media and Youth Mental Health report, which also recommends age limits and better data privacy measures.
The American Psychological Association also released a health advisory on social media use in adolescence in 2023. The advisory acknowledges that social media is not inherently harmful, but has the potential to be harmful based on each user’s circumstances. It notes youth are especially vulnerable because they are in a developmental stage in life.
A 2022 Pew survey found 97 percent of teens use the internet daily, and almost half use the internet “almost constantly.”
There are three bills this session concerning youth and social media. However, none of them have made progress.
SB 201 and HB 1314 would require more protections in place for minors on social media, including more age-verification measures. HB 1253 would require the Department of Education to develop an internet literacy curriculum.
A lawsuit from Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita against TikTok, which accused the app of luring children with deceptive labeling, was dismissed in December by Allen County Superior Court. Judge Jennifer DeGroote ruled the court did not have any jurisdiction over the China-based company and that it had not violated Indiana's laws.
What schools are doing
The complaint states many schools do not have enough mental health staff to keep up with the amount of students who seek their assistance. This problem is especially evident in Indiana, which has the highest student-to-counselor ratio in the nation.
Superintendent Roberts said the more schools that join, the better.
“What we're hoping for is the leverage that many school corporations can put on the companies that are involved with this,” Roberts said. “Maybe that pressure will result in some change for the good.”
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled in November the social media parent companies must face this lawsuit. In Reuters’ request for comment, YouTube’s parent company Alphabet said the allegations are not true and protecting children is core to their work. A TikTok spokesperson said it had “robust safety policies and parental controls.” Snap declined to comment, and Meta did not respond to a request for comment.
