This combination of 2017-2022 photos shows the logos of Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat on mobile devices. On Friday, January 6, 2023, Seattle Public Schools filed a lawsuit in US District Court, suing the tech giants behind TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat, seeking to force them to responsible for the mental health crisis among young people.
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This combination of 2017-2022 photos shows the logos of Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat on mobile devices. On Friday, January 6, 2023, Seattle Public Schools filed a lawsuit in US District Court, suing the tech giants behind TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat, seeking to force them to responsible for the mental health crisis among young people.
AP
SEATTLE — The public school district in Seattle has filed a new lawsuit against the tech giants behind TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat, seeking to hold them accountable for the mental health crisis. among young people.
The Seattle Public Schools filed the lawsuit Friday in United States District Court. The 91-page complaint says that social media companies have caused public nuisance by targeting their products at children.
It blames them for exacerbating behavioral and mental health disorders including anxiety, depression, disordered eating and cyberbullying; make it more difficult to educate students; and forcing schools to take steps such as hiring more mental health professionals, devising lesson plans on the impact of social media, and providing additional training for teachers.
“The defendant successfully exploited the vulnerable brains of young people, drawing tens of millions of students across the country into a positive feedback loop about the overuse and abuse of social media platforms. Defendant’s Association,” the lawsuit states. “Worse, the content that Defendant arranges and directs to young people is often harmful and exploitative….”
Meta, Google, Snap and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment on 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 that provision does not protect the behavior of the tech giants in this case.
“Plaintiff does not hold Defendant to be liable for what a third party said on Defendant’s platform but, instead, for Defendant’s own conduct,” the lawsuit said. “The defendant claims to recommend and promote content that is harmful to young people, such as content that causes anorexia and eating disorders.”
The lawsuit says that between 2009 and 2019, the number of Seattle Public Schools students increased by an average of 30% who said they felt “so sad or hopeless almost every day for two consecutive weeks or more” that they stop doing some things. typical activities.
The school district is asking the court to order the companies to stop causing public nuisance, pay damages, and pay for prevention education and treatment for excessive and potentially harmful social media use. problem.
While hundreds of families are pursuing lawsuits against the companies over the harm they allege their children suffer from social media, it’s unclear if any other school district has filed such complaints. of Seattle or not.
Internal studies revealed in 2021 by Facebook accuser Frances Haugen revealed that the company knows that Instagram negatively affects teenagers by damaging their body image, while also causing a negative impact on teenagers. The eating disorder and suicidal ideation worsened. She alleges that the platform prioritizes profit over safety and hides its own research from investors and the public.
