US school board sues Meta over social media addiction

Meta was sued by the school board in the company's home county for allegedly addicting students to its social media platforms and contributing to a mental health crisis. The San Mateo County board of education added the parent company of Facebook and Instagram to a complaint it filed March 13 against other social media giants, including Google, TikTok and Snap.

The complaint is similar to a first-of-its-kind suit filed in January by the Seattle public school district which alleges the firms designed their platforms to be addictive and to deliver harmful content to adolescents and teens. San Mateo's board of education says it's directing "unprecedented resources" to kids damaged by excessive screen time, diverting money from traditional teaching goals to address psychological problems, including rising suicide rates, as per the complaint.

Antigone Davis, Meta's global head of safety, said the company wants teens to be safe online and offers over 30 safety tools for kids and families, including supervision and age verification technology.