Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools Sue Social Media Giants For Role In Student Mental Health Crisis
Image Credit: Picryl / Public Domain
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
A lawsuit has been filed by the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System against a number of social media companies, seeking accountability for the increasing mental health crisis among students.
California-based Franz Law Group filed the lawsuit, working in conjunction with Lewis Thomason P.C. in Memphis. The suit names Facebook, Google, Instagram, Meta, Snapchat, Tik Tok, WhatsApp, and YouTube.
According to a press release regarding the lawsuit, they are asking for “actionable” accountability – including tools and resources – to deal with what they say is a lack of adequate monitoring and controls in place to protect children who access this social media.
“There are a litany of issues caused by children using social media without proper protections in place,” stated Chris McCarty, an attorney with Lewis Thomason. “These issues cause disruptions in schools, increase costs, and safety concerns. The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System is taking a brave and proactive step to seek accountability and marked changes in the way social media giants interact with children.”
Director of Schools Dr. Jean Luna-Vedder noted that the school system has seen an increase in mental health issues over the past few years. She believes that failure to provide those controls has led to these additional threats of violence, increased cyberbullying, and exposure to inappropriate content.
Luna-Vedder cited several specific incidences that resulted in tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage to schools and dozens of suspended students. One particular TikTok challenge led to 50 students being suspended from one school.
“Without cooperation and support from social media companies, CMCSS has been fighting an uphill battle. We need to protect our children, our schools and our society,” said Luna-Vedder.
The Lewis Thomason firm has requested that other Tennessee school districts who are interested in joining the lawsuit contact them.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
The Parents should be SUED also or more??? They should not be letting Social Media raise their children??
If you visit Lewis Thomas in P: in Memphis they practice Diversity, Inclusion and Equity. That’s all we need is woke law firms.