CHATHAM COUNTY (April 26, 2024) – Chatham County Schools has committed to filing a lawsuit against Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snap for the harmful effects the companies’ products have had on their students. Chatham Schools serves more than 9,000 students across the county, providing a high-quality education and safe learning environment. Social media is negatively affecting the Chatham learning environment and causing increased mental health issues in the student population. Chatham County Schools will join more than 200 school systems across the country that have already filed suit against these companies, and several other North Carolina school districts in moving forward with a lawsuit to hold defendants accountable for their role in the youth mental health crisis.
Students in the Chatham County school system and across the country are grappling with a mental health emergency triggered by the impact of social media platforms. The surge in anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders is leading to poor academic performance, increased truancy, substance abuse, and disruptive behavior, all stemming from addiction to and overuse of social media. As a result, the Chatham County school system is seeing an increased need for mental health support and trained staff. The schools have been forced to reallocate resources that should have been used directly for student educational programs to address these harms. This increased burden is directly affecting the school system’s ability to fulfill its educational mission.
Social media companies have deliberately designed their products to attract and addict teen and adolescent users, using targeted algorithms, constant notifications,
and insufficient parental controls. Chatham County Schools aims to initiate a transformation of these platforms, seeking both accountability and financial support. By pursuing this legal action, the school district aims to alleviate the burden placed on taxpayers and secure the necessary resources to address the crisis, thereby safeguarding the well-being of its students.
“Chatham’s decision to take legal action reflects our unwavering commitment to the welfare of our students and to ensure that social media corporations are held responsible for their contribution to the mental health challenges faced by our students,” Gary Leonard, Chair of the Chatham County School Board, said.
Chatham County Schools are represented in the lawsuit by law firms Baird Mandalas Brockstedt & Federico, Ward Black Law, and Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, co-lead counsel in the nationwide multi-district litigation against social media companies. These firms are working on a contingency basis, ensuring no cost to taxpayers.
“Social media companies purposefully design their platforms to addict young users and exploit their developing minds for financial gain. When children become addicted to social media and are exposed to harmful content, they are significantly more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, and other severe mental health challenges,” stated Janet Ward Black, an attorney representing the school district. “Through this lawsuit, we aim to compel social media companies to fully acknowledge and address the harms caused by their platforms while also compensating school districts for the resources they have been forced to utilize in mitigating this youth mental health crisis.”
For more information about Chatham County Schools’ involvement in this social media lawsuit, please contact John V. Wood, CCS public information officer, at jwood@chatham.k12.nc.us or at (919) 548-3586, or contact Hannah Gallagher at hannah@rebuttalpr.com.
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