Canada Schools Sue Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat And Here’s Why

What is it that made four Canada schools sue Intagram, TikTok and Snapchat, apparently globally known social media giants?
The country is accusing them of disrupting students’ learning, and this is coming on the heels of similar law suits against the platforms instituted by the United States of America (USA),
In the case of the USA, Maryland School district, Local education authorities sued Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta as well as TikTok parent company ByteDance.
They accused the organisations for their role in a “mental health crisis” among young people. The latest suit from Canada has helped to put the social media giants on the spot.
Three Toronto boards and one in Ottawa filed separate statements of claim with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice seeking at least Can$4 billion (US$3 billion) from the companies behind the popular apps — Meta, Snap and ByteDance.
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They also urged the companies to redesign their apps to be less addictive.
The Toronto District School Board accused the companies of having “negligently designed and marketed addictive products” that are “rewiring the way that (students) think, act, behave and learn.”
It cited significant problems with student attention and focus. Educators also lamented that social media use has led to students’ social withdrawal and increased cyberbullying and aggressive behaviors.
“Students are experiencing an attention, learning and mental health crisis because of prolific and compulsive use of social media products,” the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board said in a statement.
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This “is causing massive strains on the four school boards’ finite resources, including additional needs for in-school mental health programming and personnel, increased IT costs and additional administrative resources,” it said.
The lawsuits in Canada come a day after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law restricting social media access for minors under 16 on Monday, in part citing increasing concerns over the platforms’ effects on teen mental health.

But the law has also sparked worry that it sets a dangerous precedent for restricting free speech online.
As the Canada schools sue Intagram and the others, there is likely to be a reawakening in other climes where their massive embrace by youngsters is blamed for a lot of social vices.