<p><span style="color: #a1aab4;">January 08, 2023 8:15 PM</span></p><ul style="list-style-type: disc;" data-ke-list-type="disc"><li><a style="color: #3a79b7;" href="https://www.voanews.com/author/associated-press/j_-yt" target="_top" class="ke-link">Associated Press</a></li></ul><p><span style="color: #222f3a; background-color: #ffffff;" data-ke-size="size18"><a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/seattle-schools-sue-tech-giants-over-social-media-harm/6910057.html" target="_blank" class="ke-link">https://www.voanews.com/a/seattle-schools-sue-tech-giants-over-social-media-harm/6910057.html</a></span></p><p><span style="color: #222f3a; background-color: #ffffff;" data-ke-size="size18">SEATTLE — </span></p><p style="text-align: start;">The public school district in Seattle has filed a novel lawsuit against</p><p style="text-align: start;">the tech giants behind TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat,</p><p style="text-align: start;">seeking to hold them accountable for the mental health crisis among youth.</p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #222f3a; background-color: #ffffff;" data-ke-size="size18">Seattle Public Schools filed the lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court.</span></p><p><span style="color: #222f3a; background-color: #ffffff;" data-ke-size="size18">The 91-page complaint says the social media companies have created </span></p><p><span style="color: #222f3a; background-color: #ffffff;" data-ke-size="size18">a public nuisance by targeting their products to children.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #222f3a; background-color: #ffffff;" data-ke-size="size18">It blames them for worsening mental health and behavioral disorders including </span></p><p><span style="color: #222f3a; background-color: #ffffff;" data-ke-size="size18">anxiety, depression, disordered eating and cyberbullying; </span></p><p><span style="color: #222f3a; background-color: #ffffff;" data-ke-size="size18">making it more difficult to educate students; </span></p><p><span style="color: #222f3a; background-color: #ffffff;" data-ke-size="size18">and forcing schools to take steps such as </span></p><p><span style="color: #222f3a; background-color: #ffffff;" data-ke-size="size18">hiring additional mental health professionals, </span></p><p><span style="color: #222f3a; background-color: #ffffff;" data-ke-size="size18">developing lesson plans about the effects of social media and </span></p><p><span style="color: #222f3a; background-color: #ffffff;" data-ke-size="size18">providing additional training to teachers.</span></p><p>//</p>
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