SOMERSET COUNTY, MD - Somerset County Public Schools has filed a lawsuit against social media giants Meta, Google, ByteDance, Snap Inc., and TikTok.
These companies are being accused of deliberately designing their platforms to target children without adequate warnings. The lawsuit asserts that exposure has led to increased rates of bullying, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, misbehavior and even suicidal thoughts among young users.
It also claims the addictive nature of these products has significantly worsened the youth mental health crisis as these tech companies prioritized financial gains over the safety and well-being of children.
It goes on to allege that surging social media use has created a pressing need for Somerset County Public Schools to provide vital mental health support. Those services apparently depleted resources, required extra training for faculty and staff, and negatively impacted the educational environment.
"If it doesn't get resolved in this lawsuit I think that you can expect to see Congress deal with it and I'm not so sure the social media giants want Congress telling them how to run their business," said Phil Frederico, an attorney representing Somerset County Public Schools in the suit.
"When the taxpayer funds are being used to help the school district really accomodate and treat and deal with the problems that social media causes, that's a waste of taxpayer money," he continued.
Parents we spoke with are on board with the lawsuit.
"My daughter, she's always on Tik Tok, on social media. In school, it's a distraction. It's just taking over the kids, it changes their personality. We can try to have the parent control but then things pop up, you think it's for children and these are inappropriate things for our youngsters today," said Lynnell Fletcher-Pugh.
Somerset County Public Schools shared a statement with WBOC that reads as follows:
Somerset County Public Schools joined a coalition of school districts, individuals, and state Attorneys’ General aiming to hold social media corporations accountable for the detrimental effects on children's mental health.