Fort Wayne Community Schools is suing Meta, the parent company of both Instagram and Facebook, alleging the company is damaging the mental health of the district’s students.
Filed on Monday in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Indiana, the lawsuit accuses Meta, along with TikTok, Google, YouTube and Snapchat of contributing to a mental health crisis in America’s youth in the companies’ quest for advertising dollars.
The suit says America’s youth are “excessive and problematic users of social media” which has caused profound harm to students’ mental health, and put them at greater risk for suicide.
Problems caused by excessive social media usage includes disordered eating, sleep deprivation, anxiety and depression, according to the lawsuit.
FWCS says this usage contributes to difficulties in the classroom, and joins a number of similar lawsuits filed around the country in recent months.
In the past four months, a number of lawsuits against the social media platforms have sprung up around the country.
And last year, there were a number of other lawsuits filed by individuals alleging harm. Many are now part of class-action cases in multiple jurisdictions as part of what is now known as "Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation”.
For their part, social media companies have commented in court documents and to media outlets that they want teens to be safe online and have taken steps to make it possible.
FWCS is asking the judge to declare the companies a public nuisance under Indiana law and ordering the companies to stop what they are doing, according to court documents.
The school district is represented by Sarah Emery, with the Kentucky-based law firm of Hendy, Johnson, Vaughn and Emery. According to federal court records, she has represented school districts around Indiana and Kentucky in lawsuits against the vaping company Juul, as well as other product liability cases.
