Current:Home > InvestSeattle's schools are suing tech giants for harming young people's mental health-LoTradeCoin
Seattle's schools are suing tech giants for harming young people's mental health
View Date:2024-12-24 00:28:56
SEATTLE — The public school district in Seattle has filed a novel lawsuit against the tech giants behind TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat, seeking to hold them accountable for the mental health crisis among youth.
Seattle Public Schools filed the lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court. The 91-page complaint says the social media companies have created a public nuisance by targeting their products to children.
It blames them for worsening mental health and behavioral disorders including anxiety, depression, disordered eating and cyberbullying; making it more difficult to educate students; and forcing schools to take steps such as hiring additional mental health professionals, developing lesson plans about the effects of social media, and providing additional training to teachers.
"Defendants have successfully exploited the vulnerable brains of youth, hooking tens of millions of students across the country into positive feedback loops of excessive use and abuse of Defendants' social media platforms," the complaint said. "Worse, the content Defendants curate and direct to youth is too often harmful and exploitive ...."
Meta, Google, Snap and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment Saturday.
While federal law — Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act — helps protect online companies from liability arising from what third-party users post on their platforms, the lawsuit argues that provision does not protect the tech giants' behavior in this case.
"Plaintiff is not alleging Defendants are liable for what third-parties have said on Defendants' platforms but, rather, for Defendants' own conduct," the lawsuit said. "Defendants affirmatively recommend and promote harmful content to youth, such as pro-anorexia and eating disorder content."
The lawsuit says that from 2009 to 2019, there was on average a 30% increase in the number of Seattle Public Schools students who reported feeling "so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row" that they stopped doing some typical activities.
The school district is asking the court to order the companies to stop creating the public nuisance, to award damages, and to pay for prevention education and treatment for excessive and problematic use of social media.
While hundreds of families are pursuing lawsuits against the companies over harms they allege their children have suffered from social media, it's not clear if any other school districts have filed a complaint like Seattle's.
Internal studies revealed by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen in 2021 showed that the company knew that Instagram negatively affected teenagers by harming their body image and making eating disorders and thoughts of suicide worse. She alleged that the platform prioritized profits over safety and hid its own research from investors and the public.
veryGood! (8627)
Related
- 'Yellowstone' premiere: Record ratings, Rip's ride and Billy Klapper's tribute
- Roy Clay Sr., a Silicon Valley pioneer who knocked down racial barriers, dies at 95
- Sen. Raphael Warnock is working on children’s book inspired by the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000
- The great supermarket souring: Why Americans are mad at grocery stores
- This is Your Sign To Share this Luxury Gift Guide With Your Partner *Hint* *Hint
- Opinion: Pac-12 revival deserves nickname worthy of cheap sunglasses
- Rooting out Risk: A Town’s Challenge to Build a Safe Inclusive Park
- Family asks for public's help finding grad student, wife missing for two months in Mexico
- Ryan Reynolds Clarifies Taylor Swift’s Role as Godmother to His Kids With Blake Lively
- Rudy Giuliani disbarred in DC after pushing Trump’s false 2020 election claims
Ranking
- South Carolina lab recaptures 5 more escaped monkeys but 13 are still loose
- A man convicted of killing 4 people in a small Nebraska town faces the death penalty
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoes bill to help Black families reclaim taken land
- Caitlin Clark's spectacular run comes to a close. Now, she'll take time to reflect
- Charles Hanover: A Summary of the UK Stock Market in 2023
- Hoda Kotb Shares Why She's Leaving Today After More a Decade
- Honey Boo Boo’s Lauryn Pumpkin Shannon Showcases New Romance 2 Months After Josh Efird Divorce Filing
- Eric Roberts slams Julia Roberts in 'Steel Magnolias,' says he's not 'jealous': Reports
Recommendation
-
AI could help scale humanitarian responses. But it could also have big downsides
-
Simone Biles Wants Her Athleta Collection to Make Women Feel Confident & Powerful
-
Ina Garten Details Playing Beer Pong at a Taylor Swift’s After Party
-
Oklahoma prepares for an execution after parole board recommended sparing man’s life
-
High-scoring night in NBA: Giannis Antetokounmpo explodes for 59, Victor Wembanyama for 50
-
Revisiting 2024 PCCAs Host Shania Twain’s Evolution That Will Impress You Very Much
-
Hurricane Helene cranking up, racing toward Florida landfall today: Live updates
-
Hurricane Helene's 'catastrophic' storm surge brings danger, disastrous memories