Four Canadian school boards sue social media giants for disrupting students’ learning.

In the Canadian province of Ontario, four of the biggest school boards said on Thursday that they had filed lawsuits against TikTok, Meta, and Snapchat, claiming the social media sites were interfering with students’ education.

Platforms like Facebook and Instagram, according to the claims, are “designed for compulsive use, have rewired the way children think, behave, and learn.” 

Facebook and Instagram are owned by Meta Platforms Inc., Snap Inc. controls SnapChat, and ByteDance Ltd. owns TikTok. Messages for comment were not immediately answered by social media company representatives.

In addition, Meta Platforms Inc. is being sued by several US states, including California and New York, for intentionally and knowingly creating features on Facebook and Instagram that encourage young people to get addicted to social media sites.

The Canadian school boards involved in the lawsuit are the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board, the Peel District School Board, and the Toronto District School Board. 

They are suing for damages for interference with the educational process and the learning of the students.

The most cutting-edge tech developers in the world have intentionally and carelessly created their products to maximize the amount of time young people spend on their platforms at the expense of their wellbeing and education, according to Duncan Embury, a lawyer for the firm representing the boards, in the statement.

He declared, “Social media companies need to answer for their carelessness and the damage they have done to our community and schools.”

In the United States and many other countries, youth use social media almost exclusively. According to the study, nearly all American teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 report using social media, with over a third stating they use it “almost constantly.”

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy urged parents, carers, and tech companies to take “immediate action to protect kids now” from the negative effects of social media in May.