Social Media Lawsuit

WHAT'S THE LAWSUIT ABOUT

School districts across the country, including districts in Washington, are seeking to hold social media companies liable for substantially contributing to the mental health crisis America’s youth are facing. Social media companies have contributed to this crisis by intentionally designing, marketing, and operating their social media platforms in an exploitative manner, despite research confirming the severe and wide-ranging effects of social media on youth mental health.

As alleged in the lawsuit, social media companies have made choices to target youth, to maximize the time youth spend on social media platforms, and then designed algorithms to feed children harmful content, like videos promoting eating disorders, violence, self-harm, and suicide. The lawsuit alleges that social media companies choose to put profits over the mental health of children.

The defendants in this case are Meta Platforms, Inc. (Facebook and Instagram), Snap, Inc. (SnapChat), Bytedance, Inc. (TikTok), Alphabet, Inc. (Google and YouTube), and each companies various subsidiaries.

School districts seek to hold these companies financially responsible for costs school districts have incurred (or will incur) to prevent, intervene, educate, counsel, and repair mental health issues.

GETTING INVOLVED

There is no cost to join this lawsuit. The trial lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. That means the trial lawyers only get paid if districts prevail or obtain a settlement. The contingency fee for the trial lawyers is 25% of an award, which is far less than the typical 40%.

Getting involved is quick and easy. Each interested district must simply fill out an engagement letter. Most districts will also have their school board authorize participation in the lawsuit, and we have a draft resolution that can be used.

Interested districts should join by end of 2023 to ensure access. For more information, contact the firm today at (509) 838-8330.