Legal Battle: Canadian Schools vs. Instagram, TikTok on Charges of Disrupting Education
Four of Canada’s largest school boards have launched lawsuits against social media platforms, including Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, accusing them of disrupting student learning, they announced on Thursday.
Similarly, local education authorities in the United States have filed lawsuits in recent months, with a Maryland school district suing the Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta, as well as TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, for their roles in a ‘mental health crisis’ among young people. This marks the first such lawsuit in Canada.
The three Toronto boards, along with one in Ottawa, filed separate statements of claim with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, seeking at least Can$4 billion (US$3 billion) in damages from the companies behind the popular apps—Meta, Snap, and ByteDance.
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They also called on the companies to redesign their apps to make them less addictive.
The Toronto District School Board has accused the companies of ‘negligently designing and marketing addictive products’ that are ‘rewiring students’ thought processes, actions, behaviours, and learning capabilities.’
Significant issues with student attention and focus were cited. Educators have also raised concerns about social media leading to social withdrawal among students, as well as an increase in cyberbullying and aggressive behaviours.
‘The prolific and compulsive use of social media products is leading to a crisis in attention, learning, and mental health among students,’ said the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board in a statement.
This has ‘placed a massive strain on the resources of the four school boards, including the need for additional in-school mental health programming and personnel, increased IT costs, and additional administrative resources,’ the statement continued.
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The lawsuits in Canada were filed a day after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law restricting access to social media for minors under 16 on Monday. This move was partly in response to growing concerns over the effects of these platforms on teenage mental health.
However, the law has also sparked concerns that it may set a dangerous precedent for restricting free speech online.
AFP
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