Frederick County Public Schools Files Lawsuit Against Social Media Giants Over Youth Mental Health Concerns

Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) filed a lawsuit in October against Meta, Google, ByteDance, and Snap Inc. FCPS is joining forces with other school districts across the nation and in Maryland, such as Anne Arundel County, Harford County, and Howard County, in contending that excessive social media usage and addiction are exacerbating the mental health struggles of students. Students have faced a myriad of challenges, including heightened feelings of depression, anxiety, and body image issues, among others.

As a result of this ongoing addiction crisis, FCPS is facing the challenge of providing adequate mental health resources and proactive social media education for their students. Through this lawsuit, FCPS aims to curtail the exploitation of young social media users and secure funds from those responsible to address the crisis.

“Students in our district and throughout the nation are grappling with a mounting mental health crisis,” said FCPS Superintendent Dr. Cheryl L. Dyson. “Our primary objective with this lawsuit is to safeguard the well-being of our students and provide them with the best learning environment possible.”

Frederick County Public Schools has retained legal representation from the firms Baird Mandalas Brockstedt & Federico of Maryland and Delaware, as well as Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, Co-Lead Counsel in the nationwide Multi-District Litigation against these companies. These firms are working on a contingency basis, ensuring there will be no financial burden on taxpayers.

For questions or to receive a copy of the complaint, please reach out to Matthew Legg at [email protected].