Band joins suit against social media

The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has joined a lawsuit with other tribal nations saying social media companies have added to the mental health crisis engulfing Native American teenagers. It is the first such effort by a tribe in Minnesota.

The law firm of Robins

Kaplan in Los Angeles is representing the Band and four other tribes from the Dakotas and Wisconsin that have filed similar suits earlier this year against the four major social media companies: Alphabet, ByteDance, Meta and Snap, which run the social media sites Google/YouTube, TikTok, Facebook/Instagram and Snapchat. The filing states: “This lawsuit follows a growing body of scientific research, including defendants’ own (previously concealed) studies, drawing a direct line from defendants’ proliferation of social media products .. (and) the youth mental health crisis, including among the Fond du Lac Band.”

The filing paints a dire picture for mental health among tribal nations. It cited a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report from earlier this year that determined that the “suicide rate among Minnesota’s Native Americans is noticeably higher compared to Native Americans nationwide, and according to the Minnesota Department of Health, from 2015-2019, suicide rates among tribal adolescents (49.7) was over four times higher than white Minnesota adolescents.”

The Superior Court in Los Angeles County filing said “soaring suicide and mental illness have devastated Tribal communities and have pushed already chronically underfunded mental health programs to the breaking point.”

The suit, filed July 24, is similar to one filed by attorneys general in several states, including Minnesota, last year that demands that the social media practices by the companies be declared a “​​public nuisance” and that damages be awarded accordingly.