Six years ago, Jordan School District grieved 7 students. Now it’s taking the lead against social media giants.

Editor’s note • This article discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is at risk of self-harm, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24-hour support at 988.

Between the summer of 2017 and the spring of 2018, seven Herriman High School students died by suicide. As part of the Jordan School District’s response to their deaths, officials at the time placed psychologists in each of its 36 elementary schools.

Those sweeping efforts are why district officials say they have been selected as one of 12 lead plaintiffs in a national multidistrict lawsuit suing major social media companies including TikTok and YouTube. The federal complaint alleges that social media has caused severe mental health issues among youth.

While it’s not known if the student suicides were related to social media use, district officials said at a news conference Monday that the tragedies prompted them “to act.”

“I think our action at that time was one of the reasons why we were chosen,” said school board member Bryce Dunford. “We were starting to make major mental health improvements long before the pandemic hit.”

The multidistrict lawsuit — a type of lawsuit where similar cases involving the same issue are combined into one larger case — has been joined by at least 700 districts and charter schools across the country.

They all are suing Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram; TikTok; and several other social media companies, including Snap Inc, the developer of Snapchat; and YouTube, owned by Google.

Their argument, according to the litigation, is that the alleged harm social media causes is putting a financial strain on schools, as they are forced to provide extra services to educate affected students.

Since 2018, the Jordan School District has added a counselor and an assistant principal to each of its now 41 elementary schools to help tackle the rising mental health needs they attribute to social media.

“We have spent millions of dollars mostly on additional staff to help support students, but it would be difficult to list all the direct and indirect impacts that we feel as we see students day to day,” Superintendent Anthony Godfrey said Monday.

He paused, tears streaming down his face, before continuing.

“You see on an individual basis how their lives are negatively impacted,” Godfrey said. “It’s very emotional for me to think about the long-term impact of a student missing out on educational and social opportunities because of their connection with and obsession over social media.”

At least 20 Utah school districts and one Utah charter school have also sued the social media giants. The cases are filed in either state or federal court in California, where judges are coordinating similar claims from across the country. While there isn’t an advantage in joining one legal path over the other, school districts cannot file in both courts.

The Jordan School District filed a short-form complaint in the Northern District of California on March 7.

As a lead plaintiff, the district could be selected by the court to participate in what’s called a “bellwether” trial, a test case within a group of similar legal cases that helps predict how the others may be decided. The result of Jordan’s case could likely influence the course and outcome for other school districts.

Those trials could start before the end of the year, said the district’s legal counsel Paul Van Komen.

Godfrey said that while school staff will dedicate time to the litigation, there won’t be a significant monetary investment involved. However, there may be costs associated with attending in-person proceedings. Godfrey argued that those potential expenses would be a worthwhile “investment” in driving change.

‘An addictive product’

Dunford shared his own son’s struggle with social media addiction. Now 18, the boy received his first cellphone when he started middle school. He soon went from being a star student to failing his classes, Dunford said.

“We kind of lost him,” Dunford said. “[Social media] was his whole life, his personality. Something was consuming him, his view about himself.”

His son decided to quit social media altogether — and that’s when everything changed for the better, Dunford said.

“I will accept the responsibility for the choices we make for our children,” Dunford said. “We gave him a phone. But we expect everyone that has an influence in the lives of our children to act responsibly, to do what’s in their best interest and not do anything that deliberately harms them.”

That’s the crux of the district’s legal argument against the social media companies, contending that they are negligent and a “public nuisance.” Jordan’s complaint is incorporated by reference to the master complaint filed last year in the Northern District of California.

It also alleges that the social media giants have deliberately engineered their platforms to create addictive behaviors in minors, which has adversely affected their mental and emotional wellbeing. The suit argues that social media companies are aware of the negative effects of their products, yet continue to target youth for profit.

The school districts “cannot keep up with the increased need for mental health services due to the youth mental health crisis,” the federal complaints state. Each “requires significantly greater and long-term funding to address the nuisance Defendants have created.”

Jordan School District officials said they hope to “recoup” some of the extra costs they have incurred, but more importantly, they hope to change the way that social media companies operate.

“What I’d like to see is recognition that they have an addictive product,” Dunford said Monday.

In a previous statement to The Salt Lake Tribune, a Meta spokesperson said the company has implemented several safety features across its platforms, including age-verification technology; removing content that promotes suicide, self-harm or eating disorders; limiting what minors can see; and limiting who can see and find minor-owned accounts.

The company also notifies users if they have been “scrolling” for too long; prompts users to take breaks; and allows users to customize their feed.

But the federal litigation argues those measures are defective.

Last year, Utah became the first state to pass laws requiring social media companies to limit minors’ use of their platforms. The laws also block social media companies from implementing a “design or feature” that causes a minor to become addicted. The companies could face fines or lawsuits for violations. Those regulations took effect in March.

Utah has joined other states in a lawsuit against Meta that was filed in 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City last year. It accuses the company of harming Utah youth by intentionally creating an addictive product.

The state also has filed two separate lawsuits against TikTok. The first was filed last year, also in the 3rd District Court with similar claims as the Meta suit.

The more recent lawsuit against TikTok, filed in June in 3rd District Court, alleges that the platform has “created a virtual strip club” that exploits minors for TikTok’s financial gain.