Massachusetts is Suing Instagram – Here’s Why!
Massachusetts is one of 33 states binding together to sue Meta Platforms Inc, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, for contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly designing…
Massachusetts is one of 33 states binding together to sue Meta Platforms Inc, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, for contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly designing and implementing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms. Attorneys general in 9 other states are filing in their respective states, which will bring the total number of states taking action to 42.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in California and makes additional claims that Meta routinely collects data on children under 13 without parents’ consent, which is in violation of federal law.
The suit comes after a bipartisan coalition of attorney generals from California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Vermont investigated the situation.
In addition to Facebook and Instagram, Meta is also the parent company of several other popular social media and communication apps, including Threads and WhatsApp.
The 33 states that filed the suit in California are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
The additional suits filed in state courts were brought by the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Vermont.
The state of Florida has filed it's own separate federal lawsuit against Meta, alleging that Meta misled users about potential health risks of its products.
What happens next? Well, we kick back, keep our eyes on the news, and wait and see...
So while Massachusetts sues Meta to protect the kids, let's look at new rankings that are out showing which school districts in Massachusetts are doing the best job at filling their brains with important useable information instead of... all that Meta stuff.
The latest Massachusetts school district ranking has been released, so let's take a look at the Top 25 school districts for 2023.
The ranking was first reported on by Boston 25 News, and you can dig into their full report here. I'm sharing the list here for two reasons. One, I'm a father of two school-aged children, so these annual rankings interest me. Two, I'm a volunteer with my city's SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council), so I see value in all people having information on how school districts perform.
The report was released by Niche, and it's titled 2024 Best School Districts in Massachusetts. To pull a quote from Boston 25's piece, "Niche said its 2024 ranking is based on “rigorous analysis of key statistics and millions of reviews from students and parents using data from the U.S. Department of Education.”" In other words, this isn't some silly "Best Fall Cities" list. There's legit research here.
Massachusetts School District Ranking: The Top 25 for 2023
Here's a bit more on the methodology, straight from the Boston 25 report: "Ranking factors included state test scores, college readiness, graduation rates, teacher quality, public school district ratings, and more. SAT/ACT scores were removed from this year’s rankings to reflect a general de-emphasis on test scores in the college admissions process." I, for one, am glad to see the de-emphasis on test scores.
In news that should surprise no one, the top school districts are in cities and towns with a lot of money. That's why I'm glad that Boston 25 shared the Top 25 and not just the Top 10. I'll take you through the Top 10 below so you can see who landed where, but you'll also be able to see who rounds out the Top 25, as that part of the list is important, too. The full list of 239 can be found here.
1) Hopkinton
Overall Niche grade: A+
2) Weston
Overall Niche grade: A+
3) Brookline
Overall Niche grade: A+
4) Dover-Sherborn
Overall Niche grade: A+
5) Newton
Overall Niche grade: A+
6) Wellesley
Overall Niche grade: A+
7) Belmont
Overall Niche grade: A+
8) Wayland
Overall Niche grade: A+
9) Lexington
Overall Niche grade: A+
10) Winchester
Overall Niche grade: A+
11-25
11) Westboro
12) Shrewsbury
13) Westford
14) Sharon
15) Needham
16) Westwood
17) Harvard
18) Amherst-Pelham
19) Cambridge
20) Bedford
21) Acton-Boxboro
22) Lynnfield
23) Natick
24) Medfield
25) Duxbury
