Bay District School Board joins lawsuit against many social media platforms
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – Bay District Schools is the first in the state to join a lawsuit taking aim at some popular social media platforms.
They said the platforms are hurting local students’ mental health. Monday the Bay District School Board approved the plans to join the lawsuit with other school districts across the country.
The lawsuit involves social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Tik Tok and Youtube. The school board claims these apps are hindering students’ education.
This all came to light because school board attorney Franklin Harrison said the superintendent came to him because he saw an article about the litigation in Seattle against social media companies. He told Harrison this is a very bad problem we have in our schools, and asked can we do something about it.
Harrison did research and contacted some lawyers. School board officials claim the social media platforms are causing multiple mental health issues and impacting education.
“It’s (the lawsuit) protecting their mental health but it’s also getting them in a position so they can learn, and they can do better, said Franklin Harrison the school board attorney. “It affects the teachers, administrators, everybody that has to deal with this problem, and if we can just make it better.”
Harrison said he sees the problems in the local school system and said social media companies must be held accountable for impacting students learning and concentration.
“It also affects them showing up for school it affects whether or not they’re able to concentrate or they’re waiting for the next let me pull my phone out and see what I can do on tik tok or one of the others and you know we just have to stop that,” said Harrison.
Harrison says the kids lack of concentration on school work also affects the teachers and administration. During the meeting, they had an attorney call in from one of the law firms working on this litigation.
Harrison said many schools across the country are seeing mental health impacts from social media platforms.
“Report after report after report of mental health needs that school districts would have to bring in to help kids who are just constantly on their phones. There are disciplinary issues that are occurring, there are kids who are not learning as much as they should,” said Davis Vaughn, an attorney at Beasley Allen. “They’re distracted. Sometimes kids aren’t even coming to school due to mental health associated with social media.”
Vaughn said the litigation would be a public nuisance claim allegedly saying schools have spent time and energy combating the mental health crisis caused by the addiction to social media.
This litigation will take some time, lawyers said it could take two to four years before any settlements are reached and before any compensation would be given out. That is if they win the lawsuit.
Copyright 2023 WJHG. All rights reserved.
ICYMI: Despite being headquartered in Texas, many Texas companies choose to designate other states with business court structures as their litigation venues because of the deep body of caselaw, efficiency and predictability those courts provide. Think about how much money gets sent out of state for travel, lodging and meals as legal teams leave Texas to handle complex business litigation…
Do Texas businesses deserve their own court system? A new bill could create one.
bit.ly
Under HB 19, courts would have juries, but judges would be appointed, not elected. DALLAS — Texas is home to millions and millions of small businesses. But they’ve never had their own court system...'If a court is not qualified to understand and settle your dispute, because the court lacks the proper expertise or simply does not have the time to hear your complaint on a timely basis, you are denied your fundamental right to due process."—Former State Rep. Jason Villalba, a practicing business attorney and CEO of the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation.
Why Texas needs business courts
bit.ly
Specialized courts make it much easier to address misunderstandings common among business parties. Non-lawyers are often troubled by the fact that under both civil and criminal law, corporations are o...Thanks to everyone who stopped by Puppy Paws & Makin’ Laws this morning to hang with us, Texas Pets Alive and our furry friends! Stay tuned for details about the next event in a few weeks!
I hope a few pups got new homes.
Love the pics.
Cute puppies
That is so good.
ICYMI: Although HQ'd in Texas, many companies choose business court structures in other states because of their deep caselaw, efficiency, and predictability. Consider the amount of money spent in other states for legal teams’ travel, lodging and meals.
Do Texas businesses deserve their own court system? A new bill could create one.
Under HB 19, courts would have juries, but judges would be appointed, not elected. DALLAS — Texas is home to millions and millions of small business...
bit.ly
Courts shouldn’t be in the business of creating public policy—only the Legislature can do that. But some people are trying to use public nuisance lawsuits to go around the Legislature & impose their views on us all. Texas needs to rein in abusive public nuisance lawsuits. #txlege
'If a court is not qualified to understand and settle your dispute…or simply does not have the time to hear your complaint on a timely basis, you are denied your fundamental right to due process."—fmr State Rep. Jason Villalba, CEO of @TexHPF: #txcourts
Why Texas needs business courts
Specialized courts make it much easier to address misunderstandings common among business parties. Non-lawyers are often troubled by the fact that und...
bit.ly
