PG County Schools Sue TikTok, Meta, Others Over Mental Health Impact

UPPER MARLBORO, MD — Prince George's County Public Schools filed a federal lawsuit against several social media companies this week, claiming apps like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat have created a mental health crisis among teenagers.

The 200-page lawsuit filed in the District of Maryland names Meta, Snap Inc., Byte Dance and Google as defendants and accuses the companies of public nuisance, negligence, and gross negligence.

In the lawsuit, school district officials accuse the companies of intentionally hooking kids on platforms designed to be addictive in order to increase profits. According to the lawsuit, schools and parents must deal with the negative consequences, including eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts among teens.

"American children are suffering an unprecedented mental health crisis fueled by Defendants' addictive and dangerous social media products," the lawsuit states. "Over the past decade, Defendants have relentlessly pursued a strategy of growth at all costs, recklessly ignoring the impact of their products on children's mental and physical health and well-being."

Prince George's County Public Schools remains one of the nation's largest school districts, serving about 131,000 students in all grades.

In the lawsuit, school officials claim that social media companies have "created a public health crisis" in county schools, forcing the district to spend "significant and unexpected levels of time and resources on addressing the pervasiveness of social media addiction."

According to the lawsuit, the school district requests a jury trial.

In addition to declaring social media companies a public nuisance under Maryland law, the school district seeks compensatory and punitive damages and asks for financial relief to "fund prevention education and treatment for excessive and problematic use of social media," according to the lawsuit.

In a statement provided to WTOP, a spokesperson for Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said the company has developed numerous tools to limit social media use by kids.

"These are complex issues, but we will continue working with parents, experts, and regulators such as the state attorneys general to develop new tools, features, and policies that meet the needs of teens and their families," the statement read.

Prince George's County is not the first school district to file a lawsuit against social media companies.

In January, a suit was filed by Seattle Public Schools and others followed in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Florida, the Washington Post reported. San Mateo County, home to 23 school districts in Northern California, filed a 107-page complaint in federal court in March, according to the Post.

"The results have been disastrous," San Mateo County's complaint states. "There is simply no historic analog to the crisis the nation's youth are now facing."