Houston ISD is set to join a nationwide lawsuit that argues several major social media companies fueled an “unprecedented mental health crisis” among young people — and should pay school districts for the fallout.
HISD’s state-appointed board unanimously voted Thursday to enter into a legal agreement with three Texas firms that will represent the district in a two-year-old case that already involves hundreds of districts across the country. Under the deal, HISD will only have to pay legal fees if it wins or settles the lawsuit.
The districts already involved in the case argue the companies that own Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube created “addictive and dangerous” platforms that have spawned numerous problems for children and schools. Districts say they have had to hire additional staff to attend to students’ mounting social-emotional challenges, repair property that children damaged while participating in viral trends, spend time responding to repeated safety threats made over social media and more.
In response to school districts’ allegations, the four social media giants have largely made the case that they should not be on the hook for how children choose to engage online. Legal observers have said the school districts might face a steep challenge in winning the case.
HISD board member Angela Flowers said she has seen a wave of emotional turmoil wash over the younger generation as the mother of two recent graduates from the district’s Lamar High School. When her kids were in high school, they knew about a dozen classmates, friends and acquaintances who took their own lives, Flowers said.
“The data is that the suicides are up. That is the scary data,” Flowers said. “That’s why (social media) is like tobacco, it’s like alcohol. You cannot feed it to children.”
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Win, lose or settle, Flowers wants to see HISD expand limits on students’ phone and social media use at school. She suggested several strategies that the district could look toward, including having teachers collect phones at the beginning of class or requiring students lock their phones in pocket-sized pouches for the duration of the school day.
“We can’t keep knowing that it’s bad and not doing anything about it,” she said.
I don’t have a strong opinion about this. I’m certainly not going to defend any of the companies being sued but it’s not clear to me how one apportions blame for some of the harms being cited. Feels like a bit of a longshot to see any benefit, but as long as there’s no cost for getting involved I don’t see any reason not to do so. If this eventually translates into some kind of settlement, great.