US schools sue Meta, Google and friends over 'youth mental health crisis'
(2023/01/10)
- Reference: 1673308974
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/01/10/schools_sue_meta_google/
- Source link:
Another lawsuit accuses Meta, Alphabet and other tech giants of harming kids in the interest of boosting profits. But this one takes it a step further and alleges that by contributing to the "youth mental health crisis," the companies' social media platforms are exacerbating US schools' counselors and clinics, and directly affecting their ability to educate kids.
Seattle Public Schools, which is Washington state's largest kindergarten through 12th-grade school system, filed the complaint
It alleges that these big tech companies, which have designed their products to maximize the amount of time users spend scrolling, direct harmful content to tens of millions of kids and teens across the US — for example, promoting graphic images of self-harm, and the so-called " [2]corpse bride diet " to viewers with eating disorders.
[3]
When asked about the lawsuit and allegations that their products are hurting school-age kids, the tech companies pointed to their mental-health investments and tools for parents to limit kids' screen time.
[4]
[5]
"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," Google spokesperson José Castañeda told The Register . "For example, through [6]Family Link , we provide parents with the ability to set reminders, limit screen time and block specific types of content on supervised devices."
A Snap spokesperson noted the company's [7]Here For You campaign to provide users with mental-health resources.
[8]
"Nothing is more important to us than the wellbeing of our community," a Snap spokesperson told The Register . "At Snapchat, we curate content from known creators and publishers and use human moderation to review user generated content before it can reach a large audience, which greatly reduces the spread and discovery of harmful content.
"We also work closely with leading mental health organizations to provide in-app tools for Snapchatters and resources to help support both themselves and their friends. We are constantly evaluating how we continue to make our platform safer, including through new education, features and protections."
Meta and ByteDance did not immediately respond to The Register 's inquiries.
[9]
Seattle Public Schools, which operates 106 schools with more than 49,000 students, has been "directly impacted" by kids worsening mental health, the court documents say, citing a 30 percent increase in depression among students from 2009 to 2019.
"Students experiencing anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues perform worse in school, are less likely to attend school, more likely to engage in substance use, and to act out, all of which directly affects Seattle Public Schools' ability to fulfill its educational mission," according to the lawsuit.
[10]Google agrees to $400m settlement in privacy lawsuit
[11]Google and Meta fined over $70m for privacy violations in Korea
[12]Meta, Google, TikTok and friends sue California to block kids privacy law
[13]US Supremes deny Pegasus spyware maker's immunity claim
Like school districts across the country, Seattle Public Schools and its school-based clinics are one of the primary mental-health services providers for children in the community. But the district's counselors, social workers, psychologists, and nurses are stretched too thin, and they need more financial resources to meet the growing demand for their services, the lawsuit says.
"Plaintiff needs a comprehensive, long-term plan and funding to drive a sustained reduction in the record rates of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and other tragic indices of the mental health crisis its youth are experiencing at Defendants' hands," it reads.
The "excessive" and "habitual use" of the tech firms' social media platforms constitute a "public nuisance affecting Seattle Public Schools" and, as such, the lawsuit seeks to abate the public nuisance and get Meta, Google, and friends to fund educational and treatment for the "problematic use of social media" among kids and teens.
"It has become increasingly clear that many children are burdened by mental health challenges," Superintendent Brent Jones said in a statement
"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," he continued. "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." ®
Get our [15]Tech Resources
[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2023/01/09/seattle_public_schools_social_media_complaint.pdf
[2] https://www.drmelissalieberman.com/single-post/the-corpse-bride-diet-how-tiktok-inundates-teens-with-eating-disorder-videos-wall-street-journal#:~:text=Contact%20Us-,The%20Corpse%20Bride%20Diet'%3A%20How%20TikTok%20Inundates%20Teens%20With%20Eating,Disorder%20Videos%2D%20Wall%20Street%20Journal&text=The%20app's%20algorithm%20can%20send,hazardous%20diets%20and%20body%20shaming.
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y7zw8M6WvxYdpUzeFX9PdAAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[6] https://families.google/familylink/
[7] https://newsroom.snap.com/en-US/here-for-you
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y7zw8M6WvxYdpUzeFX9PdAAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
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[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/15/google_391m_privacy_settlement/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/14/google_and_meta_fined_over/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/16/netchoice_california_kids_privacy_law/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/09/supreme_court_pegasus_spyware/
[14] https://regmedia.co.uk/2023/01/09/seattle_public_schools_statement_social_media_lawsuit.pdf
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Seattle Public Schools, which is Washington state's largest kindergarten through 12th-grade school system, filed the complaint
[1]PDF
on Friday against Meta and its Facebook, Instagram and Siculus subsidiaries; TikTok and its parent company ByteDance; Snap; Alphabet and its subsidiaries Google and YouTube.It alleges that these big tech companies, which have designed their products to maximize the amount of time users spend scrolling, direct harmful content to tens of millions of kids and teens across the US — for example, promoting graphic images of self-harm, and the so-called " [2]corpse bride diet " to viewers with eating disorders.
[3]
When asked about the lawsuit and allegations that their products are hurting school-age kids, the tech companies pointed to their mental-health investments and tools for parents to limit kids' screen time.
[4]
[5]
"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," Google spokesperson José Castañeda told The Register . "For example, through [6]Family Link , we provide parents with the ability to set reminders, limit screen time and block specific types of content on supervised devices."
A Snap spokesperson noted the company's [7]Here For You campaign to provide users with mental-health resources.
[8]
"Nothing is more important to us than the wellbeing of our community," a Snap spokesperson told The Register . "At Snapchat, we curate content from known creators and publishers and use human moderation to review user generated content before it can reach a large audience, which greatly reduces the spread and discovery of harmful content.
"We also work closely with leading mental health organizations to provide in-app tools for Snapchatters and resources to help support both themselves and their friends. We are constantly evaluating how we continue to make our platform safer, including through new education, features and protections."
Meta and ByteDance did not immediately respond to The Register 's inquiries.
[9]
Seattle Public Schools, which operates 106 schools with more than 49,000 students, has been "directly impacted" by kids worsening mental health, the court documents say, citing a 30 percent increase in depression among students from 2009 to 2019.
"Students experiencing anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues perform worse in school, are less likely to attend school, more likely to engage in substance use, and to act out, all of which directly affects Seattle Public Schools' ability to fulfill its educational mission," according to the lawsuit.
[10]Google agrees to $400m settlement in privacy lawsuit
[11]Google and Meta fined over $70m for privacy violations in Korea
[12]Meta, Google, TikTok and friends sue California to block kids privacy law
[13]US Supremes deny Pegasus spyware maker's immunity claim
Like school districts across the country, Seattle Public Schools and its school-based clinics are one of the primary mental-health services providers for children in the community. But the district's counselors, social workers, psychologists, and nurses are stretched too thin, and they need more financial resources to meet the growing demand for their services, the lawsuit says.
"Plaintiff needs a comprehensive, long-term plan and funding to drive a sustained reduction in the record rates of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and other tragic indices of the mental health crisis its youth are experiencing at Defendants' hands," it reads.
The "excessive" and "habitual use" of the tech firms' social media platforms constitute a "public nuisance affecting Seattle Public Schools" and, as such, the lawsuit seeks to abate the public nuisance and get Meta, Google, and friends to fund educational and treatment for the "problematic use of social media" among kids and teens.
"It has become increasingly clear that many children are burdened by mental health challenges," Superintendent Brent Jones said in a statement
[14]PDF
."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," he continued. "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." ®
Get our [15]Tech Resources
[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2023/01/09/seattle_public_schools_social_media_complaint.pdf
[2] https://www.drmelissalieberman.com/single-post/the-corpse-bride-diet-how-tiktok-inundates-teens-with-eating-disorder-videos-wall-street-journal#:~:text=Contact%20Us-,The%20Corpse%20Bride%20Diet'%3A%20How%20TikTok%20Inundates%20Teens%20With%20Eating,Disorder%20Videos%2D%20Wall%20Street%20Journal&text=The%20app's%20algorithm%20can%20send,hazardous%20diets%20and%20body%20shaming.
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y7zw8M6WvxYdpUzeFX9PdAAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y7zw8M6WvxYdpUzeFX9PdAAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://families.google/familylink/
[7] https://newsroom.snap.com/en-US/here-for-you
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y7zw8M6WvxYdpUzeFX9PdAAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y7zw8M6WvxYdpUzeFX9PdAAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/15/google_391m_privacy_settlement/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/14/google_and_meta_fined_over/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/16/netchoice_california_kids_privacy_law/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/09/supreme_court_pegasus_spyware/
[14] https://regmedia.co.uk/2023/01/09/seattle_public_schools_statement_social_media_lawsuit.pdf
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
vekkq
I enjoy a good big corp burn at stake moment. But, school systems are also to blame. They are dreadful learning environments. I understand why kids want to avoid them.
Its an update of an old custom
Willie Sutton,, a notorious bank robber from the 1920s, was asked once "Why do you rob banks?". His answer was both insightful and obvious -- "Its where the money is".
Robbing banks just isn't that lucrative these days. What is particularly lucrative is finding a group that you can get to sue a tech company or similar. It, too, is where the money appears to be (although most of their notional value is in inflated stock valuations). So everyone and their dog's at it. It doesn't matter if the plaintiffs are people alleging discrimination in a Tesla factory or a bunch of educators claiming that social media is destroying the children's lives. It really doesn't matter who, when or what because anyone who has been unwittingly been made party to a class action lawsuit knows that the only real winners are the lawyers.
FWIW -- I regard social media as this century's version of television. Its one of those technologies that was initially seen as uplifting, helping us towards an enlightened utopia, but rapidly became mostly a crock of evil. (There's no money in enlightenment.) (Also -- there's nothing like a parade of pensioners remembering how some sexual encounter (or even not-so-sexual encounter) in their teens led them to a life of trauma and despair (assuming that the person who did it to them is rich enough to bother suing, of course.)