CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – One of Tennessee’s largest school districts is joining more than 500 other school districts nationwide in suing a social media giant.
The school districts claim TikTok causes negative effects on mental health and and that their “challenges” cause damage to schools.
San Diego-based law firm, the Frantz Law Group, is representing Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools and other school districts in the suit.
“I have seen like negative impacts, such as in the bathrooms where kids will steal soap dispensers and paper towel dispensers off the wall,” student Andrew Hartoon said. “You can’t even wash your hands in the bathrooms anymore.”
Hartoon and parents News 2 spoke with said some school events were almost canceled due to students acting out these challenges. Currently, Hartoon doesn’t use TikTok, but his father said if he did, his activity on the app would be supervised/monitored.
The lawsuit also alleges the app is harming students’ mental health, claiming that kids are over stimulated and there are not enough ways to monitor what they are watching.
“We want parental controls where parents have the ability to make sure whom their kids are talking to,” William Shinoff, an attorney with the Frantz Law Group, said. “Also, we want parents controlling what kind of content they are seeing.”
TikTok sent News 2 the following statement in regard to the allegations the lawsuit is claiming.
“We can’t comment on litigation, but sharing some information on how TikTok prioritizes the safety and well-being of youth, including:
- Age-restricted features, with limits on direct messaging and livestreams, and private accounts by default for younger teens.
- Default screen time limits and restricted nighttime notifications for teens, screentime management tools, and break reminders.
- TikTok’s parental controls (called Family Pairing) which empower parents with content, privacy, and screentime controls for their teen’s account.
- Access to a range of expert support resources directly from our app, including the National Eating Disorders Association Helpline, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Crisis Textline, and more.“
To learn more about the lawsuit, click here.
