Several Ontario school boards have filed lawsuits against social media giants TikTok and Meta, accusing them of inflicting damage on students’ mental health.
The suit alleges that the social media apps are interfering with students’ ability to learn and that teachers are left dealing with the “fallout” of those effects.
The suit also alleges that these platforms have led to increased violence, bullying and racism.
Four separate but similar suits were filed in Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice on Wednesday by public boards in Ottawa, Peel and Toronto as well as the Toronto Catholic board.
The claimants allege that the social media platforms in question were “designed for compulsive use (and) have rewired the way children think, behave, and learn.”
The suits are seeking $4.5 billion from the tech giants in damages for what they refer to as “widespread disruption to the education system.”
“The Defendants chose to maximize profits at the expense of student well-being and without due regard to the foreseeable harm and damage caused,” the statement of claims read.
The allegations have not been tested in court.
The boards say it’s time for TikTok and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, to make changes to their social media platforms to mitigate these issues.
School boards have resorted to bringing in additional staff, programming and resources to alleviate the “significant impacts that these addictive platforms are having on our students,” Colleen Russell-Rawlins, director of education at the Toronto District School Board told the Toronto Star.
“We’re managing mental health challenges, loneliness and … discrimination — the slurs that we’re seeing students use, some of that emanates from what’s on social media,” added Russell-Rawlins.
She noted that studies have found that over 90% of students in grades seven to 12 are actively using social media, with 45% of students spending more than five hours per day using them.
“Our students are not fully present,” said Russall-Rawlins, who added that it’s not just their education that suffers as a result but it “takes them away from the social relationships that are part of the fabric of their growth and development and socialization.”
There is also the issue of cyberbullying.
The four boards are being represented by Neinstein LLP.
“A strong education system is the foundation of our society and our community. Social media products and the changes in behaviour, judgment and attention that they cause pose a threat to that system and to the student population our schools serve,” said Duncan Embury, the head of litigation at Neinstein LLP, in a news release.
Embury said that the school boards “view this as part of a process designed to create change, because we’re hearing first-hand from educators about the enormous harms that are occurring day-to-day in the school system because of these products.”
“We are proud to support our schools and students in this litigation with the goal of holding social media giants accountable and creating meaningful change.”
There are currently around 500 school districts that have already filed similar suits south of the border but Embury believes these four to be the first of their kind in Canada.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has criticized the lawsuits as “nonsense,” saying that they are a distraction from what is really important.
“Let’s focus on math, reading and writing. That is what we need to do, put all the resources into the kids,” saif Ford during a press conference in Ottawa on Friday.
“What are they spending lawyers fees to go after these massive companies that have endless cash to fight this? Let’s focus on the kids, not this other nonsense that they are looking to fight in court.”
