Maryland school systems sue social media companies demanding changes to protect students

BALTIMORE -- Several Maryland school systems have signed on to a federal class action lawsuit that aims to hold social media companies responsible for harming young people. 

Carroll and Cecil County school officials see an unfolding mental health crisis in students and believe social media is driving it. 

"What we've seen recently—the game changer—is the actual mental health impact social media is having on students during the school day when they are supposed to be learning," Cecil County superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Lawson told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren.

The lawsuit contends apps have addictive algorithms and expose children to harmful messages. It cites skyrocketing rates of depression among youth. 

"At the moment, when the student is interacting on social media, it's not an easy thing for a parent to be aware of," Lawson said. "What we're looking for is some sort of fundamental change in the way children are able to access social media in such an addictive way."

Earlier this year, federal lawmakers held hearings on whether they should tighten regulations. 

"Unregulated social media is a weapon of mass destruction that continues to jeopardize the safety, privacy and well-being of all American youth," college student Emma Lembke said at that hearing.

A recent '60 Minutes' investigation took an in-depth look at parents who are suing social media platforms. 

In Maryland, a bill last session in the General Assembly aimed to restrict the data big tech collects from children.

Grace McComas from Howard County took her own life in 2012 after being cyberbullied. 

Her mother helped pass a strengthened law in 2019 that provides harsher penalties for those who participate in online bullying. 

She pleaded with lawmakers to pass the latest legislation at a hearing in March. 

"Right now, even the best, most engaged parents are unable to keep their kids safe online," Christine McComas told lawmakers.  "Tech products are not designed with kids' safety in mind, and they aren't interested in regulating themselves. Instead, they have monetized our children online." 

She added that "algorithms are pushing dangerous and psychologically damaging content towards our kids while platforms are designed to keep them and us online longer, driving up profits with little care for the collateral damage."

But those opposed have argued that it could lead to censorship and unintended privacy issues.

"Platforms would be forced to collect ever more sensitive data of everyone online for the sake of verifying age-related information," Claire Park of Chamber of Progress said at the same hearing. 

For Cecil County's superintendent, a father himself, the well-being of students comes first. 

"I tend to fall on the side of free speech. More important from my perspective, I tend to fall on the side of parent rights," Lawson said. "It's important that we provide our parents with some tools to have controls over their children's use of social media."

WJZ has been reporting on a recent surge in violence impacting youth in Baltimore, and at a city council public safety oversight hearing this week, a representative for City School Police said social media is driving many of those conflicts.

"There's a lot of going back and forth. Kids are having arguments on social media—things that are happening over the weekends, over the holidays," City School Police Major Norman Coleman said. "Then, they come back to the school as a meeting area. That's where they meet at. That's where they have these altercations and unfortunately, if the dispute is not taken out right in school—they don't get into an altercation there—this plays out into the community."

Baltimore City is not a part of the class action lawsuit. 

Social media sites contend they do have safeguards in place to protect children and limit their access.