Frantz Law Group Files Lawsuit Against Social Media Companies on Behalf of School Districts

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Apr 13, 2023, 13:55 ET

Lawsuit alleges negligent misconduct for causing mental health crisis among youth

SAN DIEGO, April 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 13^th, Frantz Law Group, on behalf of sixteen school district across the nation, filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in San Francisco County against Meta, TikTok, Snap, YouTube, and other social media companies for knowingly causing harm to children who use their products through their manipulative algorithms that cause addiction.

"We allege that Meta, TikTok, Snap, YouTube, and other social media companies have engaged in reckless and negligent misconduct that has caused a mental health crisis among our youth," said James P. Frantz, on behalf of the plaintiff school districts. "Social media companies are and have been well aware of the harm they cause. It must stop, and we will fight to hold these social media companies accountable for choosing profit over the mental health and safety of children and their families," said Frantz.

As alleged in the complaint, Frantz Law Group and their school district clients contend that various social media companies have caused a mental and emotional health crisis among students (children and teenagers) that is marked by higher proportions of anxiety, depression, and thoughts of self-harm, all of which severely affect their ability to succeed in school. Many children and students are subjected to often harmful and exploitative content that encourages disorderly behavior, unhealthy social comparison, and cyberbullying.

This litigation seeks to provide the funding and resources needed to mitigate the damage that school districts are currently experiencing. The plaintiffs in this filing are Apollo Ridge School District, Burbank Unified School District, Cecil County Public Schools, Coronado Unified School District, Fort Towson School District, Glen Rock Public School District, Hanna Public Schools, La Canada Unified School District, Las Virgenes Unified School District, Narragansett School System, Oceanside Unified School District, San Ramon Valley Unified School District, Sutherland Public Schools, Tulsa Public Schools, Weber School District, and West Ada School District.

Former Meta employee Frances Haugen testified before Congress that Meta's own internal research indicated how harmful their products are to the mental health of child users, teenage girls, in particular. The United States Surgeon General has declared a national advisory on the youth mental health crisis, blaming social media, in large part, for the growing number of youth experiencing depression, anxiety, self-harm, and other mental health challenges. The Center for Disease Control National Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that the rate of teen depression rose by more than 60% between 2011 and 2018.

About Frantz Law Group, APLC

Frantz Law Group is an award-winning personal injury, wrongful death, catastrophic injury, trucking litigation, mass torts, and class action law firm that has been serving clients for over 43 years. The firm has secured over 40 multimillion-dollar individual settlements and has helped secure several multibillion-dollar settlements with co-counsel that serve thousands of victims.

Frantz Law Group successfully represents nearly 1,000 school districts in 38 states with respect to the anti-vaping JUUL litigation. Despite the proposed partial settlement with JUUL Labs, Inc., Frantz Law Group continues litigation against Altria and other defendants responsible for causing the vaping epidemic.

Frantz Law Group has been ranked Tier 1 in U.S. News – Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" from 2010-2023 for mass tort litigation/class actions - plaintiffs. James P. Frantz is a fellow and associate of the American Board of Trial Advocates, is AV® rated by Martindale-Hubbell®, is a 20-year Special Master appointed by the State Bar of California and a 20-year Master in The Enright Chapter, American Inns of Court. For more information, please visit https://www.frantzlawgroup.com

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SOURCE Frantz Law Group