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Ont. school boards are trying to knock down the social media giants. Do their cases stand a chance?
The lawsuits launched by Ontario school boards against the social media giants could take years to litigate, involve dozens of experts, thousands of documents and cost lots and lots of money. And they may also encounter significant legal challenges.
According to the statements of claim, the school boards allege that these social media companies, through their "unsafe and/or addictive products" have caused the students to suffer from a slew of mental health issues, including "behavioural dysregulation, learning and attention impairments." Duncan Embury, a partner and head of litigation at Neinstein LLP, a Toronto-based firm representing the school board, told CBC News last week the named companies are "mainly responsible" for the social media products that kids use, and share common designs or algorithms that lead to "problematic use." Haidt argues, citing numerous studies, that the rise of "phone-based childhood" starting in the late 2000s and accelerating, when adolescents became addicted to their smartphones loaded with social media platforms, has led to an epidemic of mental health issues.
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