Canada school boards sue social media companies for interrupting students’ education News
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Canada school boards sue social media companies for interrupting students’ education

Four of the largest school boards in Ontario sued the social media companies behind Instagram, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok for disrupting their students’ daily education, according to a news release by the districts on Thursday.

The school boards believe these social media platforms “have rewired the way children think, behave, and learn” and desire the resources to deal with the “mental health epidemic caused by the negligent conduct of social media companies.”

The Toronto District School Board, the Peel District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board and Ottawa-Carleton District School Board filed court papers with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Wednesday. Toronto District School Board Chair Rachel Churnos Lin stated that they are suing these social media corporations for “the harm they have created by creating addictive products marketed to children,” which has subsequently negatively affected their behavior and attitudes while in the classroom.  The boards are advancing claims of more than four billion dollars in order to retain funding for student-led programs and to respond to the damage that these social media apps have caused.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford reportedly expressed his disagreement with the lawsuit, claiming that it was “time to focus on the kids, not this other nonsense.”

This lawsuit comes at a time of controversy for TikTok, Snapchat and other apps. The Canadian federal government recently revealed that it ordered a national security review into TikTok last year, and the US House of Representatives approved a bill banning TikTok earlier this March.

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