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Four school boards in Canada are suing three social media companies, Snapchat, TikTok and Meta. The reason is that social media is disrupting students’ education system.

The school boards in Canada bringing the lawsuits are the Toronto District School Board, the Peel District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board and the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.

It is the largest school board in the province of Ontario, Canada, alleging that the companies “negligently designed and marketed addictive products” that interfered with the school board’s mandate, as reported by AP, in late March 2024, writing Thursday (11/3/2024).

“Teachers are spending more time in the classroom monitoring social media issues and are being forced to restructure programs to meet the accommodation needs of students with significant attention, concentration and mental health issues; as well as the changing behavioural dynamics of the student population at large, leading to massive changes and resource requirements,” reads a statement from the Toronto District School Board.

The rise in compulsive social media use among students, the school board’s statement continued, is putting enormous pressure on the school board’s limited resources.

The lawsuit targets Meta Platforms Inc, owner of Facebook and Instagram, Snap Inc, owner of Snapchat, and ByteDance Ltd, owner of TikTok.

Ask social media companies to be responsible

Duncan Embury, a lawyer representing the school board, said in a statement that the developers of the world’s most advanced technology have knowingly and negligently designed their products to maximize the time young people spend on their platforms, to the detriment of their well-being, existence and education.

“Social media companies must be held accountable for their negligence and the harm they have caused to our schools and our community as a whole,” Embury demanded.

Snap Inc spokeswoman Tonya Johnson said Snapchat helps its users stay connected with friends.

“Snapchat opens directly to the camera — not a content feed — and has no likes or public comments,” he said.

“While we still have work to do, we’re excited about Snapchat’s role in helping close friends feel connected, happy and prepared for the many challenges of adolescence,” Johnson added.

Meanwhile, representatives for Meta and ByteDance did not immediately respond to AP’s confirmation.

Social media use among teens is nearly universal in many parts of the world.

Dozens of U.S. states, including California and New York, are also suing Meta Platforms Inc. for harming young people and contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly and deliberately designing features on Instagram and Facebook that keep children addicted to the platforms.

(nwk/pal)