NC leaders meet in Raleigh to discuss social media in schools

The Wake County Public School System on Monday held an event at Athens Drive Magnet High School, where the state Department of Justice discussed social media and its impact on children.

More than 150 people, including parents, teachers, students and law enforcement, attended the event.

One Wake County School board member on Monday said social media algorithms are an attack on children, and social media has been linked to eating disorders, drug use, bullying and self-harm.

Multiple experts said social media has become an issue in schools.

Monday's town hall was an opportunity for all stakeholders to share their concerns and ideas, including banning phones in school.

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, candidate for governor, attended the event and made remarks, saying, "It's not about taking social media away fro young people because they use it. It's about having limitations put on by social media companies to better protect kids."

Stein is one of dozens of attorneys general suing social media companies for ensnaring kids and deceiving users about the safety of social media platforms.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, told WRAL News earlier this year that the platforms are already taking steps to protect young users.

“We automatically set teens’ accounts to private when they join Instagram, and we send notifications encouraging them to take regular breaks,” the Meta statement said. “We don’t allow content that promotes suicide, self-harm or eating disorders, and of the content we remove or take action on, we identify over 99% of it before it’s reported to us.”