Today, Robins Kaplan LLP filed lawsuits on behalf of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and Oglala Sioux Tribe against entities that include Meta Platforms, Inc., which owns Facebook and Instagram, Snap, TikTok parent company ByteDance, and YouTube parent company Alphabet.
The complaints allege that rampant social media addiction for Native American teenagers is contributing to a worsening mental health crisis in Reservation communities.
The Center for Native American Youth notes that Tribal teen suicide rates are roughly 3.5 times higher than the national average in the United States. And for female Indigenous teens, the grim figure balloons even more, with a suicide rate that is over five times greater than their white peers, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Robins Kaplan partner Tim Purdon, who is also the Chair of the firm’s American Indian Law and Policy Group, said, “These lawsuits are not only about the harm we alleged has been inflicted on Native American youth — it is also about the sovereign right of Tribal Nations to defend their citizens from corporate practices that allegedly endanger them. The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and Oglala Sioux Tribe are standing up not only for their children, but for every Native community suffering in silence. Robins Kaplan is proud to stand with them, as we continue our mission to defend Tribal sovereignty and safeguard Native lives.”
Robins Kaplan represents other Tribal Nations in similar lawsuits against the same social media companies. The firm has filed complaints on behalf of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, Spirit Lake Nation, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.
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