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Schools in several major cities in Canada have initiated legal actions against social media corporations, including Meta Platforms Inc.\u2019s Facebook, alleging that these platforms hurt children\u2019s mental health<\/a> and educational progress.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, school districts from Toronto, Ottawa, and Peel Region launched individual lawsuits, collectively seeking damages amounting to approximately $4.5 billion.<\/p>\n The legal actions against Meta, TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd., and Snapchat parent Snap Inc. allege<\/a> that these firms intentionally target children with products designed to be addictive. This, in turn, leads to disturbances in classroom settings and increases the susceptibility of children to sexual abuse and exploitation.<\/p>\n The Toronto District School Board said in a complaint filed in Ontario\u2019s Superior Court: \u201cEndemic social media use is causing an unprecedented youth mental health crisis within the Plaintiff\u2019s schools and amongst its student population.<\/p>\n \u201cStudents\u2019 social media use is causing significantly increased rates of anxiety, depression, social media addiction, body dysmorphia, anorexia, low self-esteem, disordered eating, suicidal ideation, pervasive loneliness, self-harm, and suicide,\u201d it continued.<\/p>\n It claimed that the companies \u201ccapitalized on their knowledge that the developing child brain is particularly vulnerable and prone to manipulation\u201d by these social media products.<\/p>\n Only this week (March 26), Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law<\/a> to effectively ban young children from social media.\u00a0Under the new legislation to be introduced on 1 January 2025, Florida will prohibit children aged 13 and under from having access to social media, whilst 14 and 15-year-olds will require parental consent to be online.<\/p>\n In January, social media executives testified at a US Senate hearing<\/a> aimed at addressing online child exploitation. The CEOs of Meta, TikTok, Snap, Discord and X, formerly known as Twitter, shared their stance amid growing concerns and questions about how platforms are considering their impact on children.<\/p>\n Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg surprisingly turned to parents of victims on the Senate floor and apologized. \u201cI\u2019m sorry for everything you have all been through,\u201d Zuckerberg said while parents displayed photographs of their children, who died after suffering from sexual exploitation or harassment through social media platforms.<\/p>\n Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap Inc., expressed similar sentiments to parents whose children obtained illegal drugs via Snapchat. In late 2023, parents of over 60 teenagers sued Snap, accusing it of enabling their children to purchase drugs that led to overdoses.<\/p>\nThe ongoing issue with social media<\/h2>\n