A New Avenue to Combat the Social Media Crisis in Our Schools

Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A. represents school districts nationwide in In re: Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation (MDL No. 3047), centralized in the Northern District of California. We seek to recover both past and future costs tied to student mental-health harms linked to platform design, while pushing for safer product changes.

Each year, a growing body of scientific evidence reveals the devastating toll prolonged social media use is taking on the cognitive, linguistic, and social-emotional growth of our children. This is not a distant problem; it is a public health crisis that has invaded our schools, placing an unprecedented burden on school districts’ resources and staff.

At Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A., we believe that school districts should not have to bear this responsibility alone. We are filing lawsuits on behalf of school districts across the country to hold social media giants: Meta (Facebook, Instagram), Snap (Snapchat), ByteDance (TikTok), and Alphabet (YouTube) accountable for their role in this crisis. These lawsuits seek financial compensation for the costs your district has incurred or will incur to address the harms caused by these platforms.

The Problem: A Crisis Fueled by Negligence

Social media companies have spent years deliberately designing their platforms with addictive features to maximize user engagement and profit, directly targeting the most vulnerable population: our youth. This intentional exploitation, mirroring tactics once used by the tobacco industry, has fueled a national youth mental health crisis.

The repercussions for your school district are profound and undeniable:

• Increased Mental Health Issues: A surge in student anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and self-harm.
• Strain on Resources: The need to hire additional counselors, social workers, and mental health professionals.
• Diversion of Funds: Reallocating essential educational resources to implement new mental health programs, update school policies, and train staff on crisis response.

Proven Public-Entity Results & Contingency-Fee Representation

This litigation is not a novel approach. It is built upon the same successful legal strategies used in the recent, landmark JUUL litigation, where hundreds of school districts recovered millions of dollars in damages caused by the youth vaping epidemic. The current social media lawsuits are consolidated in federal court in the Northern District of California (4:22-md-03047-YGR), streamlining the legal process for all participating districts. Our firm has a long and successful history of representing public entities, including New Jersey school districts, in a wide variety of legal matters.

Our representation is offered on a contingency basis. This means your district will not pay any upfront attorney’s fees or expenses. Our firm only receives a fee and cost reimbursement if your district receives compensation.

Why Your School District Should Act Now

Joining this litigation offers your school district a unique opportunity to:

• Secure Financial Compensation: Recover past and future costs incurred from addressing the social media crisis, including expenses for additional staff, mental health programs, and other necessary resources.
• Demand Corporate Change: Force these multi-billion dollar companies to change their harmful business practices and make their platforms safer for our children.
• Protect Your Students and Community: Proactively address a matter of critical public concern and stand as a leader in the fight to protect the next generation.

Time Commitment for Your Staff

We understand the demands on school administrators and staff. Our goal is to make your district's participation as seamless as possible. We expect staff involvement to be minimal, primarily limited to assisting with written questions and document production.

Join the Ongoing Lawsuits Against Major Social Media Companies: Next Steps for Your District

The time to act is now. Public opinion is turning against these massive social media companies, while their vulnerability is at an all-time high. To learn more about how your school district can join this important litigation, contact us today at 732-838-5352 to schedule a confidential presentation for your school board or administrators.

Frequently Asked Questions About Social Media Litigation (MDL 3047)

1. Our school district is in New Jersey, but the litigation is in California. Does that matter?

No, the location of your school district does not matter. The federal court system has consolidated all of the social media lawsuits from across the country into a single proceeding known as a Multi-District Litigation (MDL). This is a common legal process for complex cases involving many plaintiffs and a small number of defendants. All of the cases—whether they were originally filed in New Jersey, California, or any other state—are centralized in the Northern District of California under a single federal judge.

This consolidation process is designed to make the litigation more efficient by centralizing discovery and pretrial motions, ensuring consistent rulings, and saving resources for all parties involved. Our firm is part of a national network of law firms handling MDL 3047 cases, and our team has extensive experience working within the MDL framework.

2. Is it too late for our district to join the social media litigation?

No, it is not too late. The litigation is still ongoing and actively accepting new cases.

However, we urge you not to delay. While new claims are still being filed, there is a possibility that a global settlement could be announced in the future. In similar, large-scale litigations involving school districts, those who filed their claims sooner often received greater compensation. Districts that wait too long may be precluded from joining a future settlement or may be entitled to a smaller portion of the recovery. For this reason, we work to file our clients' cases as soon as possible.

3. Will our staff have to go to trial in California?

No. The likelihood of your district's case going to trial is minimal. The court has already selected a limited number of "bellwether" cases to be prepared for potential trial. This pool of test cases is intended to provide the parties with a better understanding of how a jury might respond to the evidence and legal arguments. It is highly unlikely that any newly filed cases would be selected for this purpose. The vast majority of MDL cases are resolved through a global settlement before any individual case goes to trial.

4. How much does it cost to hire Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A.?

Your school district will not pay any upfront costs to our firm. We handle this litigation on a contingency fee basis. This means our firm only earns a legal fee if we successfully secure compensation for your district through a settlement or a verdict. If we don't win your case, you pay us nothing. There are zero out-of-pocket expenses for your district, we only get a fee and cost reimbursement if we win your case.

5. How long will the case take to resolve?

These cases are complex and can take a substantial amount of time to resolve. However, the social media litigation has been ongoing for some time now, and significant progress has been made through the MDL process. While we cannot guarantee a specific timeline, the more school districts that join the litigation and hold these companies accountable, the greater the pressure for a timely and favorable resolution.

6. What types of damages are you seeking on behalf of school districts?

We are seeking to recover both past and future damages that school districts have suffered. This includes, but is not limited to, the costs of:

• Hiring additional counselors, social workers, and other mental health professionals.
• Implementing new or expanded mental health and behavioral support programs.
• Training teachers and staff on how to address mental health crises and issues stemming from social media use.
• Updating school policies and infrastructure to mitigate social media-related disruptions.

7. Does our district need to have a specific number of affected students to join?

No. The lawsuits are not based on individual student claims. Instead, they focus on the systemic public nuisance and the financial burden placed on the school district as a whole. The lawsuits are seeking compensation for the resources your district has expended to manage the mental and behavioral health crisis fueled by these platforms.

For a detailed look at the legal arguments, you can review the filed master complaint here.