A statement of claim calls on the social-media companies to remediate the school boards and redesign their products to make them safe for children.
Social-media giants Meta, Snapchat and TikTok have lost a legal challenge attempting to throw out a multibillion-dollar lawsuit launched by the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, the Ottawa Catholic School Board and a dozen other school boards across Ontario.
The Schools for Social Media Change says a judge’s dismissal of the motion will result in the case continuing to trial.
In March 2024, the ODCSB was among a handful of Ontario school boards to launch lawsuits, asking for $350 million in general and special damages along with $100 million in aggravated damages and $350,000 in punitive and exemplary damages.
The statement of claim called on the social-media companies to remediate the school boards and redesign their products to make them safe for children. “Students’ social-media use is causing a student mental health crisis, for example, increased rates of anxiety, depression, social-media addiction, body dysphoria, anorexia, low self-esteem, disordered eating, self-harm and suicide.”
Social-media use has caused attention issues in the classroom and has been linked to cyberbullying and self-esteem issues in children, OCDSB director of education Pino Buffone told the Ottawa Citizen in an interview.
Also filing lawsuits initially were the Toronto District School Board, Peel District School Board and Toronto Catholic District School Board. Afterwards, the OCSB and other Ontario boards joined the lawsuit, resulting in an increase in the damages claims.
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Those claims argue that Meta, TikTok and Snapchat were negligent in designing online programs that affected the well-being of students, adding that counter-efforts by school boards to deal with the fallout from the social-media platforms have resulted in billions of dollars in additional costs.
In her decision, released Friday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Janet Leiper wrote that, “The statistics, if true, and the methods and outcomes of social media on the learning environment reveal broad effects that impact not only the immediate access to the right to an education, but to the futures of many young people.
“It is arguable that an addictive product that interferes with the mental health and educational aspirations of students is a public nuisance that requires a remedy.”
The allegations in the lawsuits have not yet been proven in court. Meta, TikTok and Snapchat have argued they are committed to the well-being of students.
A Snapchat spokesperson said Tuesday that the platform was “intentionally designed” to be different form traditional social media as it opened directly to a camera rather than a feed of content and had no 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 statement said.
A Meta spokesperson said Tuesday the company had developed tools to support parents and teens, including the introduction of protected teen accounts on Instagram.
“We strongly disagree with the allegations and believe the evidence will demonstrate our commitment to supporting young people,” the statement read.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
With files from The Canadian Press
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