Seven Ontario Schools and Boards Join Lawsuit against Social Media Giants for Disrupting The Education System
The addition of publicly funded school boards and private schools broadens the gravity of the litigation, which now represents the impact on nearly 1 million students across the province
TORONTO, May 29, 2024 /CNW/ - Seven additional schools and boards have joined the lawsuit against tech giants Meta, Snapchat, and TikTok for disrupting student learning and the education system. These schools and boards join four of Ontario's largest school boards who initially launched the suit in March. The lawsuits filed by these boards and schools claim social media products, intentionally designed for compulsive use, have rewired the way children think, behave, and learn and educators within these boards/schools have been left to manage the fallout.
The new schools to join the lawsuit include public and Catholic school boards:
- 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)
- District School Board of Niagara (DSBN)
- and private schools Holy Name of Mary College School and Eitz Chaim
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 addictive properties of the products designed by social media giants have compromised all students' ability to learn, disrupted classrooms and created a student population that suffers from increasing mental health harms. As a result, social media companies have forced school boards to divert significant resources including personnel, hours, funds, and attention to combat the growing crisis caused by their products.
The lawsuit, led by Toronto-based boutique litigation firm Neinstein LLP, calls on social media giants to redesign their products to keep students safe. These changes will result in a reduction in mental health harms to youth and disruptions to the education system. The lawsuit also seeks compensation on behalf of school boards for the losses related to tackling the crisis social media has created in our schools. School boards will not be responsible for any costs related to the lawsuit unless a successful outcome is reached.
While the use of devices in schools is one piece of the puzzle, this is a multifaceted problem. The announcement, coupled with the provincial government's recent policies limiting cell phone use in schools, highlights concerns surrounding social media products. These lawsuits address the compulsive social media use happening both during school hours and outside the classroom, which continues to permeate the education system, impacting student learning and well-being.
To learn more about the lawsuit and to follow developments, please visit the Schools for Social Media Change Alliance at https://schoolboardsforchange.ca.
"The addictive properties of social media products have now become a universal issue. No culture, religion or socio-economic status is safe. It's imperative for our schools to band together to prepare our students for the ever changing world, which we can't do if they are lacking focus and suffering from an increase in mental health harms." - Carrie Hughes-Grant, Head of School, Holy Name of Mary College School
"After implementing a cell phone ban in our school, we quickly learned that it wasn't enough. The impact of social media products on student learning is multifaceted and begins with the root of the problem - the design of social media products. Restricting the use of devices in our school is just one piece of the puzzle, as we know that compulsive social media use outside the classroom will continue to permeate our classrooms and impact student learning." - Rabbi Mordechai Loiterman, Head of School Eitz Chaim
"The addictive nature of social media has interfered with both student learning and their mental health and well-being. This 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."– Kelly Pisek, Director of Education, District School Board of Niagara
"We see this as a critical issue affecting student learning and well-being. It is a starting point to reduce the compulsive use of social media and one of many approaches we are taking for the betterment of TLDSB students. If no action for change is made, compulsive social media use outside the classroom will continue to permeate the education system and impact student learning." - Wes Hahn, Trillium Lakelands District School Board
"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. 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." – Marianne Mazzorato, Director of Education, Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board
"Our commitment to student-focused education drives our innovative practices at the Ottawa Catholic District School Board. We believe in equipping our students with the tools for the future, and our approach to Deep Learning reflects this philosophy. However, we recognize that social media products can impede our students' focus and hinder the development of key global competencies. That's why we are committed to advocating for safer social media environments for our students."- Thomas D'Amico, Director of Education, Ottawa Catholic District School Board
"The York Catholic District School Board is proud to join school boards from across Ontario in highlighting the harms social media companies have caused to students' mental health and ability to learn. We call on these social media platforms to change by prioritizing our children's safety and well-being." -Elizabeth Crowe, Chair of the Board, York Catholic District School Board
"The addition of these school boards and schools to the ongoing litigation against technology companies demonstrates the widespread disruption to the education system. We are working to hold social media giants accountable and proud to represent our schools in making meaningful change to benefit tomorrow's future leaders." - Duncan Embury, Partner, Head of Litigation, Neinstein
Schools for Social Media Change is a concerned group of school boards, Canadian leaders and organizations working together to strengthen our students' fundamental right to education. Social media products, designed for compulsive use, have rewired the way children think, behave, and learn. Our schools are unfairly bearing the brunt of the learning and mental health epidemic caused by the negligent conduct of social media companies. The school boards listed on schoolsboardsforchange.ca have commenced legal action against social media giants for this disruption to student learning and the education system.
SOURCE Schools for Social Media Change
For media inquiries: Andrea Chick, (613) 252-7527, [email protected]
Share this article