EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Las Cruces Public Schools (LCPS) has joined a nationwide lawsuit against major social media companies in response to a mental health crisis among students who are affected by the “harmful effects” of social media, the school district said in a press release on Friday, Oct. 4.
LCPS says it has retained attorneys to represent the district against social media companies including Meta, Google, ByteDance, and Snap, Inc., adding that it places the district among other school districts in alleging that social media companies design their platforms in a way that results in “adolescent addiction, exacerbating the mental health crisis among students.”
“The action taken by the Board is not about legal outcomes or compensation,” LCPS Board of Education President Teresa Tenorio said. “It sends a message that social media companies are culpable for their negative impact on our youth and are directly responsible for effecting positive change. Our voice in this much-needed public conversation may also force lawmakers and regulators to act.”
LCPS has also introduced anonymous reporting apps to encourage students to report incidents of bullying, violence, or threats of self-harm.
The school district has also implemented the use of a firewall monitoring on school devices and the Board of Education passed a policy earlier this year to address “bullying, cyberbullying, racialized aggression and harassment while students are on school property, on a school bus or while at any school-sponsored activity or event,” LCPS said.
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