Seattle's public school district filed a lawsuit against major social media platforms on Friday, alleging that they have contributed to a growing youth mental health crisis in the U.S.
In the complaint, public school officials said they are holding Facebook, Instagram, Google, Snapchat, YouTube, and TikTok "accountable for the harm they have wreaked on the social, emotional, and mental health" over the years.
The district cites Washington state's public nuisance law, which prohibits companies from harming "the safety, health, comfort, or repose of any considerable number of persons" or offending "public decency."
"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 suit read.
Google spokesman José Castañeda told Axios that the company has "invested heavily in creating safe experiences for children" across its various platforms, as well as introducing "strong protections and dedicated features."
"For example, through Family Link, we provide parents with the ability to set reminders, limit screen time, and block specific types of content on supervised devices," Castañeda said.
Meta, parent company of Snapchat and Facebook, issued similar statements pledging to continue prioritizing teenagers' safety online and provide mental health resources if possible.
"We've developed more than 30 tools to support teens and families, including supervision tools that let parents limit the amount of time their teens spend on Instagram, and age verification technology that helps teens have age-appropriate experiences," said Antigone Davis, Meta's global head of safety. "We'll continue to work closely with experts, policymakers, and parents on these important issues."
Meanwhile, Seattle School Superintendent Brent Jones defended the lawsuit, arguing that the platforms haven't done enough to help break social media addiction.
"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 claimed to Agence France-Presse.
"We are confident and hopeful that this lawsuit is the first step toward reversing this trend for our students, children throughout Washington state, and the entire country," he added.