Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect that DeKalb County School District has spent $4.3 million on its efforts to mitigate students’ social media reliance. The district has not spent money “out of pocket” on the lawsuit against the social media companies.
The DeKalb County School District has confirmed its pursuit of a lawsuit against a number of major social media companies, after reportedly spending more than $4 million to mitigate the student body’s reliance on social media.
The district, which serves more than 90,000 students, is the only Georgia school district among several across the country filing suit against companies like Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Tiktok, Snapchat, and YouTube. The federal litigation seeks financial compensation and systemic changes to how these platforms operate.
The district has spent an estimated $4.3 million on Yondr Bags, cell phone lockers, lightspeed filters, and other “hard costs” incurred since 2017 attempting to manage students’ dependency on social media, Carla Parker, DCSD spokeswoman, told Rough Draft Atlanta. The figure was calculated by DeKalb County economist Jeffrey Meyers.
According to court documents obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the defendant companies say DCSD wants between $2.4 billion and $4.3 billion to fund and implement a 15-year plan that would address social media addiction for DeKalb students. The district is requesting an additional $180 million in damages for lost teaching time and the cost of locking up students’ cell phones during class.
“While we are unable to comment on pending litigation, it is important to note that DCSD remains deeply committed to educating and protecting children both in the classroom and online by promoting responsible technology use, supporting student mental health, and partnering with families to ensure safe digital engagement,” Jennifer Carraciolo, interim chief for community engagement and innovative partnerships, said in a statement.
The district requested that a judge let its lawsuit against TikTok, Meta, Snap, YouTube and associated companies go before a jury in Atlanta. It pushed back against the companies’ argument that their social media platforms aren’t the cause of the district’s problems.
The hundreds of school districts nationwide that have filed lawsuits against the social media companies claim that the social media giants’ products were intentionally designed to be addictive to young people. Those complaints are among more than 2,000 similar cases that have been consolidated before a federal judge in California.
Davis Vaughn, an attorney with Atlanta’s Beasley Firm representing the district, could not be reached for comment for this story.