SPOKANE, Wash. — During Wednesday's board meeting, Spokane Public Schools voted to join a lawsuit against several social media platforms.
The board voted unanimously in favor of the resolution, which authorizes staff to execute agreements necessary for the district to join a mass action lawsuit by school districts against social media companies.
In January, Seattle Public Schools became the first district to sue a group of social media companies over the mental health crisis in America's youth. Now it has become a mass action lawsuit with several other districts joining.
The districts are suing for damages and for the amount of extra resources schools have had to provide students.
King County attorneys who filed the original lawsuit say taxpayers should not have to pay for the mental health problems social media platforms have caused. In fact, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said social media can be dangerous for young people. “There is not sufficient evidence for us to conclude that social media is in fact sufficiently safe for our kids,” said Murthy.
The districts are suing Instagram, Tik Tok, YouTube and Facebook.
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