Seattle Public School District Sues Big Tech Over Mental Health ‘Crisis’ Among Youth

Seattle Public School District officials filed an application Lawsuit Friday was a day of protest against the owners of social media platforms, such as Facebook, TikTok, etc., for allegedly deliberately creating a mental crisis among the youth.

The 91-page lawsuit was filed by plaintiffs in a U.S. District Court. They argued that the platforms, which include YouTube, Snapchat and Google, created a public nuisance for Seattle Public Schools.

“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 lawsuit is here. “Worse, the content Defendants curate and direct to youth is too often harmful and exploitive.”

The lawsuit claims that these types of content are promoted by social media companies. ‘corpse bride’ Diet, 300 calories per day, and encouraging self-harm. Cyberbullying, anxiety, and suicide are some of the mental health problems that the lawsuit alleges big tech is encouraging among youth.

According to the lawsuit, students with mental health problems perform poorly in school and are less likely than others to attend class. They also engage in substance abuse. “directly affects Seattle Public School’s ability to fulfill its educational mission.”

According to Seattle Public Schools District, 30% of students felt hopeless or sad for longer than two weeks in the period 2009-2019. This led to them deciding to quit participating in their usual activities.

District officials further argued in the lawsuit that the state of children’s mental health led the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association to declare a national emergency and the U.S. The Surgeon General will issue an advisory “to highlight the urgent need to address the nation’s youth mental health crisis.”

In his 2022 State of the Union Address (State of the Union Address), President Joe Biden brought attention to social networking platforms. He said that the damage social networks have done to American youth should make all of us resolute. “hold social media platforms accountable for the national experiment they’re conducting on our children for profit.”

Brent Jones, District Superintendent, told The Daily Mail A statement that “it has become increasingly clear that many children are burdened by mental health challenges.”

“Our students — and young people everywhere — face unprecedented, learning and life struggles that are amplified by the negative impacts of increased screen time, unfiltered content, and potentially addictive properties of social media,” Jones said.

According to other public school officials, Insider Paper They are “holding social media companies accountable for the harm they have wreaked on the social, emotional, and mental health” Students

“The increase in suicides, attempted suicides, and mental-health related emergency room visits is no coincidence,” Statement.

José Castañeda, a spokesperson for Google, which owns YouTube, told The Daily Mail the tech giant gives parents tools to limit screen time for their children and prevent certain types of content on their devices.

“We have invested heavily in creating safe experiences for children across our platforms and have introduced strong protections and dedicated features to prioritize their well being,” Castañeda said.

Officials from the District stated that they believe defendants will invoke section 230, which protects them from liability in certain situations, to shield their conduct. Plaintiffs counter that the law doesn’t protect the plaintiffs. “Defendants’ own acts in designing, marketing, and operating social media platforms that are harmful to youth.”

“Plaintiff is not alleging Defendants are liable for what third-parties have said on Defendants’ platforms but, rather, for Defendants’ own conduct,” The lawsuit is here. “Defendants affirmatively recommend and promote harmful content to youth, such as pro-anorexia and eating disorder content.”

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