Pittsburgh School District Joins Law Firm's Long List of Social Media Lawsuits
Frantz Law, which has filed over 100 lawsuits against social media platforms for their alleged role in a growing mental health crisis among U.S. youth, added a Pennsylvania school district to its portfolio Wednesday. Most of the cases have been…
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assigned to U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who’s overseeing multidistrict litigation against social media firms in U.S. District Court in Northern California in Oakland. The North Hills School District, with 4,554 students in six schools, alleges (docket 4:23-cv-02546) Facebook and Instagram, Snap, TikTok, WhatsApp and YouTube platforms intentionally market their services to youth, their algorithms are harmful, and they're designed to maximize time spent on them for their own financial profit. Schools are struggling not only to provide students with mental health services but also to deliver an adequate education because of the youth mental health crisis, the complaint said. Students in grades 6-12 identify depression, stress and anxiety as the most prevalent obstacles to learning, said the complaint, saying heavy social media use caused an increase in cyberbullying, sleep deprivation, eating disorders and suicidal tendencies. Claims are for violations of public nuisance law, negligence, racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering. The Pittsburgh school district seeks an order that defendants are jointly and severally liable and required to abate the public nuisance. They also seek an award to fund prevention education and treatment for excessive and problematic use of social media; actual, compensatory and statutory damages; and reasonable attorneys’ fees and legal costs.