The school boards have included several giants such as Meta Platforms and Snap in the suit
Four school boards in Canada have filed a lawsuit against social media giants such as Meta Platforms and Snap for over $2.96 billion (CAD$4 billion.
The lawsuit accuses the companies of causing harm to the school boards’ students.
According to a statement released jointly by the four participating school boards, the products released and maintained by the social media companies have been “negligently designed for compulsive use, have rewired the way children think, behave, and learn”.
The statement went on to say that as a result of this design, students are suffering learning and mental health crises. The outcome of that, said the statement, was that schools are being required to pour more of their funding into support programs for those students.
Research to support claims against social media platforms
There have been a number of studies that have placed the spotlight on the way that popular platforms such as Facebook and Instagram can be addictive to use. Moreover, prolonged use of those products can cause or contribute to depression and anxiety, said a recent Reuters report.
In 2023 alone, thirty-three US states filed lawsuits against Meta, having accused it of producing and maintaining products that lead to mental health challenges among teenagers and younger children. Clearly, this is far from the first time Meta has been down this legal path for similar reasons and with large plaintiffs filing against them.
The newly filed lawsuit in Canada has also named BiteDance’s short form video TikTok app among the platforms that contribute to the learning and mental health issues in students.
The school boards filing the lawsuit against the social media giants include the Toronto District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board, Peel District School Board, and Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. Those are all located in the province of Ontario and are in and around the provincial capital of Ontario and federal capital. There are over 1,000 schools affiliated with the participating school boards. Neinstein LLP, a law firm based out of Toronto, is representing them.