FORT FRANCES — The list of school boards suing TikTok, Facebook and other social media giants for billions of dollars has grown to 12 – including the Rainy River district’s public board.
The separate but similar lawsuits, which allege the popular platforms have harmed kids’ mental health and well-being, were initiated in March with four Toronto- and Ottawa-area boards seeking $4.5 billion.
Rainy River District School Board and seven other public and Catholic boards have since joined them in suing the massive corporations that own TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms. So have two private religious schools, in Mississauga and Toronto.
Rainy River launched its suit in June, said Heather Campbell, the board’s director of education.
The boards’ and schools’ cases, filed in Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice, allege the social media platforms have “rewired” children’s brains and added greatly to education costs.
“We’ve seen the impact of social media on our students’ mental health, and we believe it’s become a crisis,” Campbell told Newswatch in a phone interview this week.
Social media’s addictive properties “have compromised our students’ attention and their ability to learn,” she said.
“It has disrupted classrooms and schools, and we’ve seen a student population that is suffering from increasing mental health harms.”
Campbell said she learned of the big boards’ lawsuits against the social media giants earlier this year and “felt that we need to be part of the change where we support and protect our students’ well-being.”
Instead of charging the boards legal fees while the lawsuits proceed, the law firm leading the actions will take a cut from court awards, according to the Toronto Star.
Rainy River’s claim seeks general and special damages in the amount of $15 million; $30 million in aggravated damages; and $15 million in punitive and exemplary damages.
As well, the court could award pre-judgment interest, post-judgment interest, the costs of legal action and other relief.
Beyond monetary awards, Campbell said, the school board would like to see the social media companies “redesign their products to keep children safe.”
“There need to be safeguards put in place to protect children and youth,” she said.
