Social media companies sued by school boards in Ontario

Four Ontario school boards have launched a lawsuit against three social media giants for disrupting learning and the education system. The action was announced Thursday morning. The Toronto District School Board, the Peel District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board and the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board have initiated a proceeding against Meta Platforms Inc., Snap Inc. and ByteDance Ltd. The boards are seeking more than $4 billion in damages. Meta runs Facebook and Instagram, Snap is the parent company of Snapchat and ByteDance operates TikTok. The lawsuit is asking the social media firms to remediate the costs to the education system, and to redesign their products to keep students safe. School boards will not be responsible for any costs related to the suit unless the case is successful. The boards allege that students are experiencing mental health crises due to the proliferation of social media apps on devices. This is causing strain on the resources of the boards including mental health professionals and increased IT costs. “A strong education system is the foundation of our society and our community,” Duncan Embury, a lawyer with Neinstein LLP, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, said in a statement. “Social media products and the changes in behaviour, judgement and attention that they cause pose a threat to that system and to the student population our schools serve. 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.” South of the border, American lawmakers have renewed funding for a program which directs the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services to look at technology’s impact on the development and mental health of children. The program is getting a further US$15 million for the study. Last year an initial US$15 million was pledged. The move was spearheaded by two Democratic Party lawmakers, senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts and representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland. The program aims to look at such issues as depression, anxiety and drug abuse among youth. It will also examine the effects of screen light exposure and stimulating media content on sleep. “It’s a tiny sum of money in the scope of the federal budget, but it will be used to investigate a matter that is of the utmost concern to families across America,” Raskin told the Washington Post. Future funding for the project is not guaranteed but both politicians told the Post they were hopeful that its scientific efforts would continue. – Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us

Social media companies sued by school boards in Ontario

Court | March 28, 2024

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Related Stories

Competition Bureau suing Google for alleged anti-competitive ad practices

Terrestar takes CRTC spectrum revenue decision to Federal Court of Appeal

Legal dispute between Bell, Rogers over Discovery channels ends

SaskTel seeks judicial review, appeal of CRTC wholesale fibre decision

Reuse & Permissions

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us