First big vapor – next TikTok ‘challenge’?

Although no public announcement has been made, the Scottsdale Unified School District may win a major lawsuit targeting Juul, the country’s largest electronic cigarette (aka “vape”) maker.

And the pockets of social media giants could be the next target.

At a public meeting on March 7, the SUSD Board heard a presentation on “The Dark Side of Social Media.”

The board has since entered an executive session to consider a lawsuit against some of the social media giants.

We have also privately discussed with District Attorneys “the resolution of the lawsuit against Juul Labs, Inc. and possible participation in the Multi-District Settlement Trust.”

In a public vote, the Board unanimously approved the Joule Settlement without announcing the settlement amount.

Scottsdale attorney Joseph Tan, who represented the district in the Juul lawsuit, turned his attention to a lawsuit aimed at the social media giant. persuaded to sue

According to SUSD agenda information, Tann was “to provide information regarding a multi-district lawsuit against various social media operators, including but not limited to Facebook (Meta), Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

“The lawsuit alleges public nuisance and negligence for its impact on students’ mental health.”

Tann pitched himself to the SUSD board as an attorney.

“Currently, I serve as lead attorney for both the City of Tucson and Pima County in the Opioid Epidemic.”

He also said he is representing the district suing Juul.

“Overall, my firm has recovered over $100 million in government agencies and complex civil litigation,” Tann said.

A Scottsdale attorney said the “next battle” is against social media.

“Company algorithms, corporate decisions, and business strategies like Tik Tok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Snapchat are driving unprecedented levels of anxiety, depression, thoughts of self-harm, body image issues, and suicidal thoughts. A growing body of research suggests it’s responsible for school-age children across the country, including here in Arizona.

Tann denounced the horrible business practices of social media companies:

“These companies have designed their platforms in ways they know will negatively impact the mental health of young people, maximizing the time children spend on their platforms so they can make more money and sell more ads. increase.”

As lawyers see it, the name of the game, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok, is to keep kids glued to apps that consume and add negative content.

“They do everything they can to keep kids engaged as long as they can because the more engaged the kids are, the more likely they are to get involved, exchange inflammatory messages or It’s because they actually promote things that aren’t safe for the environment,” Tann said.

“I mean, they’re doing all this with billions of dollars in their pockets.”

Noting the growing interest in mental health among young people, Tann asked:

He told the board that if he sued the tech giant, “you’re not going to do it alone,” and that Mesa and the Seattle area have already filed lawsuits. He said he co-represents those districts with another law firm.

After the public presentation, Tan met privately with the board. Executive Her session agenda includes district attorney recommending to the board to approve her settlement with Juul.

“District attorneys have presented the Board with the possibility of settlement and participation in the National Trust established for the government agency that initiated the lawsuit,” the agenda reads.

While not admitting wrongdoing, Juul settled thousands of lawsuits in December.

The New York Times quoted a lawyer who sued an e-cigarette manufacturer saying, “These settlements provide meaningful compensation for victims and their families, and provide real money to schools for mitigation programs. provide and help governments and tribal groups to prevent youth use of e-cigarettes across the United States.

After the executive session, SUSD made no announcements about the old Juul lawsuit or the new social media lawsuit.

Neither the district nor Tan discussed legal action against either.