4 Ontario school boards sue Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok

FILE- In this March 13, 2019, file photo Facebook, Messenger and Instagram apps are are displayed on an iPhone in New York. AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

Four Ontario school boards are joining together in a $4-billion lawsuit against major social media companies, alleging that their products have rewired how children think, behave and learn and that educators and schools have been left to “manage the fallout.”

The Toronto District School Board, Peel District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board and Ottawa-Carleton District School Board have tapped Toronto-based Neinstein LLP to represent them in the fight against Meta Platforms Inc., which owns Facebook and Instagram; Snap Inc., which owns Snapchat; and ByteDance Ltd., which owns Tiktok.

“There has been growing concern for years about the effect of social media on students’ development, mental health, safety and emotional well-being. Urgent action is needed to protect students from further harm,” said PDSB director of education Rashmi Swarup.

“That is why we have come together in bringing action against social media giants to make their products safer while addressing the disruptions they are causing to our educational mandate.”

In a release, the four boards and the litigation firm, under the moniker Schools for Social Media Change, allege that the social media products have been “negligently designed for compulsive use” and that the prolific and compulsive use of these products is responsible for “an attention, learning and mental health crisis” among students.

“The influence of social media on today’s youth at school cannot be denied. It leads to pervasive problems such as distraction, social withdrawal, cyberbullying, a rapid escalation of aggression, and mental health challenges,” said TDSB director of education Colleen Russell-Rawlins.

The school boards say they are facing “massive strains” on resources as a result, including greater needs for in-school mental health programming and increased IT costs, at a combined total of over $4 billion.

Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce appeared unimpressed by the proposed legal action.

“I do believe there are challenges we face with distractions in schools and the government has taken steps,” Lecce said, referencing legislation passed last year and billed as “back-to-basics” in terms of study and activities.

“We’re going to take further steps but when it comes to this particular matter, I think school boards need to lean in the direction of government.”

Lecce said he wanted to see schools focused on academics — reading, writing and math.

The boards are looking to have the tech companies “remediate these enormous costs to the education system, to redesign their products to keep students safe.”

The release also stressed that the school boards “will not be responsible for any costs related to the lawsuit unless a successful outcome is reached.”

While Lecce accepted school boards weren’t financially on the hook for the lawsuit, he suggested the boards would be putting “a great deal of resources and time” into the lawsuit.

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“It just demonstrates to me that there’s a better way for school boards to use their time on what matters to children, which is going back to basics,” the education minister said.

Ontario NDP MPP Catherine Fife said the lawsuit was a sign of “how bad it’s got” in schools.

“School boards are now looking to the court system to protect students from the dangerous content that’s on social media,” she suggested.

“We’ve known about this issue for a long time, I think school boards are doing what they have to do but I don’t think they should have to do it.”

John Fraser, an Ontario Liberal MPP, said it showed that “we have a challenge in our schools with smartphones and applications and it’s affecting our kids.”

A spokeswoman for Snap Inc., Tonya Johnson, said Snapchat was “intentionally designed to be different from traditional social media.”

“Snapchat opens directly to a camera — rather than a feed of content — and has no traditional public likes or comments. While we will always have more work to do, we feel good about the role Snapchat plays in helping close friends feel connected, happy and prepared as they face the many challenges of adolescence.”

The other social media companies have yet to respond to requests for comment.

Hundreds of school boards in the United States, along with some states, have launched similar lawsuits against social media companies.

The allegations have not been proven in court.

— with a file from The Canadian Press’ Maan Alhmidi.