AACPS Suing 4 Social Media Companies, Alleging Students Are Addicted: Reports

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD - Reports said Anne Arundel County Public Schools is suing four social media companies and alleging that social media addiction is hurting students' mental health.

WJZ on Aug. 28 identified the companies getting sued as:

• Meta (Which owns Facebook and Instagram)
• Google (Which owns YouTube)
• ByteDance (Which owns TikTok)
• Snap Inc. (Which owns Snapchat)

WJZ said districts across the country, including Harford and Howard counties, are also suing social media companies and accusing them of fostering body image issues and depression.

"Students in our district and across the nation are experiencing a growing mental health crisis because of social media companies and their addictive platforms. Our focus with this lawsuit is ensuring the wellbeing of our students and providing them with a healthy learning environment," AACPS Superintendent Mark Bedell said, according to WJZ. "Social media companies must take responsibility for their role in this crisis, which has made educating our students exponentially more difficult and compelled us to divert essential funding meant for education toward mental health programs."

The lawsuit also alleges that social media companies learn what young users like and repeatedly expose them to that content, WBAL reported.

"As a result of the addictive nature of these algorithms and platforms, children are spending too much time on their cellphones," said AACPS's attorney, Phil Frederico, according to WBAL. "Certainly, the content is problematic as well, but it's really these platforms and really these algorithms that are getting them to stay on their phones, repeatedly interrupting their time at school."

To learn more about the lawsuit and see reactions, read the full stories from WBAL and WJZ.

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