Louisiana School District Sues TikTok, Instagram – Government Technology

(TNS) — The Livingston Parish School Board is suing TikTok and Instagram, arguing the social media giants have made their platforms so addictive that they have created a mental health crisis among the district’s students.Originally filed in the 21st Judicial District Court located in Livingston in mid-July, last week the case was transferred to federal court. The school board is represented by the law firm Fayard & Honeycutt.In addition to TikTok and Instagram — along with their parent companies ByteDance and Meta — the board is also suing two Internet service providers, alleging they are responsible for “facilitating minors’ access” to the social media platforms.”This action is brought to protect children and families in the State of Louisiana from Defendants’ intentional manipulation of children via sophisticated design elements deployed on Instagram and TikTok,” the lawsuit says. “Defendants do this to keep Louisiana children addicted to their social media platforms.”The school board has asked the court to prevent the companies from “engaging in the conduct” that they say has negatively impacted their students. It is also seeking monetary recompense to fund preventative education for excessive social media use, along with seeking other damages.The plaintiffs are also demanding a trial by jury
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