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Tuesday, November 10, 2026Nov 10

Tennessee school district sues social media companies over student mental health ‘crisis’

The icon for the video sharing TikTok app is seen on a smartphone Feb. 28 in Marple Township, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
The icon for the video sharing TikTok app is seen on a smartphone Feb. 28 in Marple Township, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) The icon for the video sharing TikTok app is seen on a smartphone Feb. 28 in Marple Township, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

A Tennessee school district has joined a growing list of school systems across the nation that are suing major social media companies like TikTok and YouTube over a crisis in student mental health.

Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools filed its lawsuit earlier this month through the California-based Frantz Law Group and Tennessee-based law offices of Lewis Thomason.

Other Tennessee districts are interested in joining the suit, said Chris McCarty, a Knoxville attorney who is helping to coordinate litigants.

The case’s arrival in Tennessee comes as the nation’s top health official issued a warning last week about the risks of social media to young people.

While social media can be beneficial, its effects on adolescent mental health are not fully understood, and it “can also have a profound risk of harm,” U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said