Five additional school boards and two private schools in Ontario have joined a lawsuit against Snapchat, TikTok, and Meta, alleging the social media giants are harming students’ well-being and stunting academic growth.
In late March, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), Peel District School Board (PDSB), Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB), and Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) announced a joint lawsuit of $4.5 billion against the popular social media platforms.
The most recent lawsuits were filed on Tuesday by the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB), York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB), Trillium Lakeland District School Board (TLDSB), Ottawa Catholic District School Board (OCSB) and the District School Board of Niagara (DSBN).
Two Ontario private schools, Mississauga’s Holy Name of Mary College School and Toronto’s Eitz Chaim, are also included.
A spokesperson for Schools for Social Media Change said the lawsuits filed by the school boards and schools claim social media products have rewired how children think, behave, and learn.
“The mix of public and Catholic school boards, and private schools in both urban and rural regions of Ontario demonstrate this is a universal issue that affects those from diverse cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds,” the news release states.
Handling of social media apps in schools taking a toll on educators
The various Ontario school board directors and officials issued statements following the lawsuit, urging the social media giants to redesign their products to keep students safe.
“Our board believes that extraordinary lives start with a great Catholic education. However, our students’ education is being disrupted by the impact of social media products,” said Marianne Mazzorato, Director of Education at the DPCDSB.
“This is why we have joined the many schools and boards across the province in their fight for restoring academic success for our future leaders.”
Kelly Pisek, Director of Education of the District School Board of Niagara, said social media increasingly hinders students’ ability to absorb lessons, think critically and thrive in our learning spaces.
“As a result, school staff are required to spend more time working to meet the needs of students who face significant attention, focus and mental health concerns.”
At the time of the initial lawsuit filed by the TDSB, PDSB, TCDSB and OCDSB, a Snapchat spokesperson said, “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.”
None of the allegations has been proven in court.
Hundreds of school boards in the United States and some states have launched similar lawsuits against social media companies.