CCSD to consider suing social media companies like TikTok, Instagram
The Clark County School District will consider joining a growing number of districts nationwide filing lawsuits against social media platforms, alleging negative effects on student mental health.
The School Board will consider Thursday whether to authorize four law firms to conduct litigation against “various social media defendants,” including Facebook, Meta, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube and Google, according to the meeting agenda.
If approved, the agreement will be with law firms Wagstaff & Cartmell; Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles; Goza & Honnold; and Kirton McConkie.
The law firms are among the seven firms that represented the district in litigation against e-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs this year. The School Board accepted a $9.5 million settlement with Juul in March.
There aren’t any documents posted with Thursday’s meeting materials online about the social media litigation. A note on the agenda says “confidential.”
The district said Wednesday it could not comment on potential litigation.
Attorneys would receive 33 percent of money the district gets in a settlement, according to an attorney-client agreement. The district released the document to the Las Vegas Review-Journal in response to an inquiry.
In Clark County, dozens of student-created social media accounts have been used to bully classmates or share videos of on-campus fights. In recent weeks, the district also has addressed widely circulated social media threats that have caused disruptions at schools.
Thursday’s item is part of the consent agenda, where multiple items are approved in one batch. No discussion is expected, unless trustees pull the item for separate consideration.
Elsewhere across the country, other school districts in California, Washington, New Jersey, Alabama and Kentucky already have sued social media platforms.
Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.
