A group of Ontario school boards mounting a legal fight against Meta, Snapchat, and TikTok says a judge has dismissed the social media giants’ motion to overlook the lawsuits.
Since March 2024, fourteen Ontario school boards and individual schools have initiated suits against the social media companies, alleging the platforms are negligently designed for compulsive use and have rewired how children think, behave and learn.
Schools for Social Media Change, the group of plaintiffs, says the court’s denial of the tech giants’ motion for dismissal means the case can proceed to trial.
“This is the first step in achieving justice for the education system, and ultimately the next generation of leaders,” said Duncan Embury, Partner, Head of Litigation, Neinstein, the national civil-litigation firm leading the lawsuit on behalf of the school boards.
“Now that we’ve been successful in this motion, the case can proceed to trial to hold social media giants accountable.”
Among the plaintiffs are some of the province’s largest school boards, including the public and Catholic school boards in Toronto and Ottawa.
The suits make a slew of allegations about how negligently designed social media platforms have disrupted the education system at the expense of students’ well-being, causing schools to use their resources to address the fallout.
The allegations in the lawsuits have not been proven in court, and Meta, Snapchat, and TikTok have all said that they’re committed to teens’ well-being.
Together, the plaintiffs are seeking several billion dollars’ worth of damages.
With files from Lucas Casaletto of CityNews
A group of Ontario school boards mounting a legal fight against Meta, Snapchat, and TikTok says a judge has dismissed the social media giants’ motion to overlook the lawsuits. Since March 2024, fourteen Ontario school boards and individual schools have initiated suits against the social media companies, alleging the platforms are negligently designed for compulsive
A group of Ontario school boards mounting a legal fight against Meta, Snapchat, and TikTok says a judge has dismissed the social media giants’ motion to overlook the lawsuits.
Since March 2024, fourteen Ontario school boards and individual schools have initiated suits against the social media companies, alleging the platforms are negligently designed for compulsive use and have rewired how children think, behave and learn.
Schools for Social Media Change, the group of plaintiffs, says the court’s denial of the tech giants’ motion for dismissal means the case can proceed to trial.
“This is the first step in achieving justice for the education system, and ultimately the next generation of leaders,” said Duncan Embury, Partner, Head of Litigation, Neinstein, the national civil-litigation firm leading the lawsuit on behalf of the school boards.
“Now that we’ve been successful in this motion, the case can proceed to trial to hold social media giants accountable.”
Among the plaintiffs are some of the province’s largest school boards, including the public and Catholic school boards in Toronto and Ottawa.
The suits make a slew of allegations about how negligently designed social media platforms have disrupted the education system at the expense of students’ well-being, causing schools to use their resources to address the fallout.
The allegations in the lawsuits have not been proven in court, and Meta, Snapchat, and TikTok have all said that they’re committed to teens’ well-being.
Together, the plaintiffs are seeking several billion dollars’ worth of damages.
With files from Lucas Casaletto of CityNews
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