Santa Barbara Unified School District Joins Other Districts to Sue Social Media Companies
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - Claiming social media sites can harm children by their outreach process in certain areas, the Santa Barbara Unified School District has joined a lawsuit against several of the major sites including Meta (Facebook & Instagram), Tik Tok, YouTube and Snapchat.
The district says more than 1,500 school districts nationwide are involved.
The lawsuit alleges that these companies are knowingly causing emotional harm to children through their platforms by intentionally marketing and designing their systems for users who are minors.
The country’s youth mental health crisis has seen a sharp increase due to excessive use of social media, according to the lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in San Francisco by the Frantz Law Group. Santa Barbara Unified will be represented by this firm.
There is no state action at this time on this case, it is entirely on a federal level.
The district says the negative issues that have come from social media content includes anxiety, depression, thoughts of self-harm, disordered eating behaviors, and low self-esteem among children and students. Many are subjected to harmful, exploitative and addictive content that encourages disorderly behavior, unhealthy social comparison, and cyberbullying.
The district announced the lawsuit inside a wellness center space at La Cumbre Junior High School. It is an area where kids can come to if they need "space" or to get away from a specific situation that is affecting them in a negative way.
“Our teachers experience the daily impact of predatory social media features that rob our students' attention, and its impact on student mental health, sleep, and focus. As Generative AI expands rapidly and seeps into our students' tools for learning, tech companies must share the responsibility of creating safe and responsible technology that protects our youth, empowers parents and teachers, and helps us protect human intelligence over artificial intelligence, humanity first," said Superintendent Hilda Maldonado.
She said, this litigation is a necessary, non-negotiable step to hold these companies accountable and protect the well-being of all students in Santa Barbara Unified.
The district says one case in Kentucky has settled for $27 million.
The district is also seeking a financial settlement and changes by each of the companies involved.
(More details, video and photos will be added here later today.)
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