Rise In Mental Health Struggles Prompted Chatham Suit, District Says

CHATHAM, NJ — The School District of the Chathams issued a statement on Thursday explaining why it is the first school district in New Jersey to sue major social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

According to Superintendent Michael LaSusa, the district has filed a lawsuit against the social media companies, seeking damages for practices that it claims are a significant factor in rising student mental health issues.

The lawsuit, which was filed last week in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey, names those social media conglomerates, alleging that they are victimizing its students by "ruthlessly extracting every dollar possible with callous regard for the harm to mental health."

In his statement, LaSusa stated that the district has been forced to spend more resources in order to address the mental health needs of our students at all grade levels, including rising rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation.

Some of the additional costs have forced the district to reallocate resources away from classroom instruction and other academic programs, placing schools on the front lines of an "unfair fight."

"Our expenditures in this area are not sustainable and divert resources from classroom instruction and other programs. In short, the harms caused by these Defendants have impacted the School District’s ability to carry out its core mission of providing an education," LaSusa wrote.

Read more: Chatham Schools Sue Tech Companies Over Social Media Harm

The suit names Meta Platforms, Inc., formerly known as Facebook, Inc., Instagram, YouTube, LLC, Snap Inc., TikTok Inc., and ByteDance Inc. as defendants.

The lawsuit's main objectives are to hold defendants accountable for the harm they caused through their actions and to compel them to create easy-to-implement safeguards for school-age children that will ultimately benefit them.

According to LaSusa, the legal action won't have an impact on the tax burden.

The School District is represented on a contingency basis by Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Olstein, Brody & Agnello, P.C. and Seeger Weiss LLP, two law firms known for multidistrict mass torts and class actions in both state and federal court; they will only be compensated if a monetary award is made.