This week, a school district in Michigan joined a federal lawsuit against Facebook alleging that the social media giant facilitates cyberbullying, contributes to eating disorders, and leads to a broad negative impact on the lives of young users. To make matters worse, the suit also says that Facebook knows this a problem — an allegation backed up by internal company leaks.

“Defendants have intentionally designed their products to maximize users’ screen time, using complex algorithms designed to exploit human psychology and driven by advanced computer algorithms and artificial intelligence available to two of the largest technology companies in the world,” the lawsuit says. “Defendants have progressively modified their products to promote problematic and excessive use that they know threatens the actuation of addictive and self- destructive behavioral patterns.”

For its part, Facebook pointed out that it has invested in more than 30 tools to support young users and their parents. However, those efforts might be too little, too late for the plaintiffs in this suit. And while this is just one school district out of hundreds of thousands, it could be a sign of big things to come. If the nation’s education system unites against Facebook, the company may have no choice but to take serious action and do a better job protecting kids.

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