Trigger warning: article mentions suicide.

In May, news circulated that PGCPS issued a lawsuit against a number of popular social media platforms, due to concerns for students’ mental health and cyberbullying. 

PGCPS is not the only district wanting to or already filed for a lawsuit against social media platforms.  Other school districts in California, Pennsylvania, and Florida have already filed.

Social media contributes to cyberbullying every year, and according to WebPurify “37% of kids associate depression with online bullying.”

PGCPS has chosen several law firms to represent them in this upcoming case, including Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, etc.  According to an article published by Fox5 news, the main focus and argument for PGCPS have been to protect mental health for students inside of schools. According to PGCPS leaders, students’ mental might be affected by these platforms playing a role in youth crises like cyberbullying, which could lead to suicide. Cyberbullying is more frequently seen in teenagers ages 14-15.

“Our primary goal is to ensure the safety and well-being of our children, allowing them to learn and receive the highest quality education possible,” said Judy Mickens-Murray, a the chair of the PGCPS school board.  

The defendants in this case, which are the social media companies, argue they are not at fault for the youth crisis in mental health. It seems each company has a system and a policy agreement to ensure parents have some type of control over their youth’s phones and social life. Each social media has a system of age restrictions to ensure children younger than 13 do not access apps they are not supposed to.

According to Fox5 “ the suit is filed in Northern California but school districts across the country have cosigned.” Many people support this developing case, in order to keep young children safe from social media and the consequences that come with it.