2024-03-29 07:45:59
The four largest school boards in the Canadian province of Ontario announced (Thursday, 28.3.24) that they have begun taking legal action against the companies Meta, Tik-Tok and Snapchat. This, on the grounds that social media disrupts the students’ studies.
The lawsuits filed, demanding compensation in the amount of 4 billion Canadian dollars (about 2.9 billion US dollars), claim that the way in which the various social networks were designed was intended to lead to compulsive use of them, and that they changed the way children think, behave and learn.
“These companies have knowingly created addictive programming that is targeted and marketed to young people and it’s causing significant harm and we just can’t stand by and not talk about it anymore,” said Rachel Charnos, who serves as a Toronto District School Board trustee. According to her, the teachers and parents notice problems such as anxiety, attention problems, social withdrawal, cyberbullying and mental problems caused by the use of social networks.
A spokeswoman for Snapchat claimed in response to an advertisement in the AP news agency that the application helps users stay connected with their friends. “While we’ll always have more 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,” she said.
Meta – which controls Facebook and Instagram, and Bitdance, which controls Tik-Tok, did not respond to the news agency’s inquiries.
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