Seattle schools sue tech giants over students “Mental Health Crisis”

The Seattle school district recently filed a lawsuit against some of the largest social media companies, including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube, alleging the platforms for creating a “mental health crisis among America’s youth” by exploiting the addictive nature of social media.

Social media companies accused of promoting harmful content

According to the lawsuit filed by the Seattle school district, these apps have “successfully exploited the vulnerable brains of youth, hooking tens of millions of students across the country into positive feedback loops.” As a result, an increasing number of students are struggling with increased levels of anxiety, depression, thoughts of self-harm, and suicidal ideation. Research has backed up these claims, citing a 30% increase between 2009 and 2019 in students who reported feeling “sad or hopeless… for two weeks or more in a row that [they] stopped doing some usual activities.”

Furthermore, the school district has identified the spread of harmful content on social media as one of the primary reasons for the mental health crisis. They allege that social media platforms are pushing extreme diet plans, encouraging self-harm and more, which has led to a drop in performance in their studies, making students “less likely to attend school, more likely to engage in substance use, and to act out.”

Section 230 Does not Protect Social Media Companies

This lawsuit has raised questions about the role of social media companies in the well-being of their users. The schools claim that Section 230 of the US Communications Decency Act does not protect social media companies from the harm caused by their content recommendation and distribution practices.

However, in response, social media companies have defended their practices. Google has claimed that it has “invested heavily in creating safe experiences for children across our platforms,” and Meta’s global head of safety, Antigone Davis, has stated that the company has “more than 30 tools to support teens and families.”