Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce speaks to media at the Queen's Park Legislature in Toronto on Aug. 25, 2023.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
Ontario’s Education Minister is criticizing school boards for suing the companies behind four major social-media platforms, saying they should have acted much sooner to mitigate online harms in the classroom.
Five Ontario school boards and two private schools on Tuesday announced that they would be joining four others in suing the companies that own Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat and TikTok, accusing them of designing unsafe and addictive products that harm the mental health of students and disrupt learning.
But Stephen Lecce said Wednesday that the “school boards could have, should have taken action years ago” to address problems with cell phones and social media use in class.
“Instead of large litigation, they ought to be focused on actually countering the threats online, taking action immediately,” the Education Minister told reporters at Queen’s Park.
He said school boards could have restricted cell phones in classrooms, banned social media on devices and from school WiFi and enhanced lessons about responsible use of technology as well as online threats and privacy. The Ontario government last month announced similar measures.
“We choose to act instead of litigate, we choose to collaborate with these enterprises,” to improves systems online and keep children safe, Mr. Lecce said.
He said the government has reached out to social-media executives as well as Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Thomas Carrique, and will be meeting with them next month to discuss cyber security and children’s safety online.
The filed lawsuits are against Meta Platforms Inc., which is responsible for Facebook and Instagram, Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, and ByteDance Ltd., the owner of TikTok. The school boards and private schools are advancing claims of $2.6-billion.
The boards and schools are represented by Neinstein LLP. School boards are not responsible for costs related to the lawsuits, and the firm will take a fee if damages are awarded.
In response to Mr. Lecce’s comments, lawyer Duncan Embury said the onus for harms caused to students and the education system falls on social-media giants.
“These tech giants have built products, negligently designed for compulsive use, and have not been transparent with the public about their inherent danger to youth. Technology companies must step up and take responsibility for creating a safe digital environment for children and youth,” he said in a statement.
This week’s statements of claim were filed in Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice by Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, York Catholic District School Board, Trillium Lakelands District School Board, Ottawa Catholic School Board, District School Board of Niagara, as well as Holy Name of Mary College School, an all-girls school in Mississauga, and Eitz Chaim, a Jewish day school in Toronto.
In March, four of the country’s largest school boards – Toronto District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board, Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and Peel District School Board – became the first in Canada to file lawsuits against social-media companies.
Pino Buffone, director of education at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, said Tuesday that, ahead of the litigation, the board had measures in place such as limiting phone use in class and blocking social-media accounts from school networks. But he said social-media platforms are designed to target youth and encourage compulsive use, and educators have to deal with the fallout.
None of the allegations have been proven in court. The NDP and other opposition parties at Queen’s Park supported the school boards’ right to sue.
Lisa Laventure, a spokesperson for Meta, said the company looks forward to meeting with Mr. Lecce “to discuss how the government can work collaboratively with technology companies to help ensure young people have safe, empowering experiences online.”
In a previous statement, Ms. Laventure said Meta was working to take action, including investing in technology that finds and removes content related to suicide, self-injury and eating disorders before it’s reported.
Danielle Morgan, a spokesperson for TikTok, said the app has safeguards in place, including parental controls and an automatic 60-minute screen-time limit for users under 18.
Tonya Johnson, spokesperson for Snap, said the company intends to defend the claims and added that, while it has 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.”
With a report from Caroline Alphonso in Toronto
Laura Stone