Social media apps sent alerts and promoted use during U.S. school hours
Internal documents disclosed in lawsuits filed by more than 1,400 U.S. school districts reveal that Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube deliberately sent notifications and promoted engagement during school hours and recruited teen ambassadors to hook young users. School districts allege the platforms' addictive design undermined education and harmed students' mental health through loneliness, bullying and other harms.
What happened
Snapchat sent phone alerts to adolescents during school hours urging them to share content from their classrooms, and internal strategy documents referred to classroom phone use as 'under the desk' time.
Meta paid 'teen ambassadors' to promote Instagram and distribute merchandise to their peers at school, while TikTok gave the National PTA millions of dollars partly to throw school events and provide favorable comments to journalists.
TikTok's leaders decided not to disable notifications during school hours despite years of pressure from its own safety teams, and Google managers knew YouTube was recommending non-educational videos to students during school days.
Reported impact
School districts contend that the apps' addictive designs made teachers' jobs more difficult and harmed teenagers' mental health and academic performance.
Complaints have mounted that the platforms are responsible for loneliness, bullying, eating disorders and sexual exploitation among teenagers, prompting many school districts to ban smartphones and reevaluate reliance on devices like Chromebooks.
Index analysis
The companies' strategies to keep children engaged with their screens during school hours reportedly prioritized user engagement over educational concerns, according to internal documents disclosed in litigation.
Governance controls
Concerns from parents, teachers and the companies' own trust and safety teams about interfering with school education were reportedly overshadowed by the companies' push to maintain engagement.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.