Ontario’s Education Minister, Jill Dunlop, has confirmed a meeting with executives of YouTube, where part of the provincial government is making a concerted effort to see through its continued agenda in dealing with ongoing issues about the increasing distraction in classrooms caused by social media. The meeting, which took place last October, is one of the greatest steps of the government in its plan for involving social media companies in resolving their impacts on students’ ability to focus and well-being.
It follows an announcement made earlier this year when the government opted to enter into discussions with social media companies after opting out of a lawsuit led by some of the biggest school boards in Ontario. Former Education Minister Stephen Lecce had noted that dialogue rather than litigation was key when he said collaboration, not confrontation, would help solve the problems raised by YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and others.
During her address, Minister Dunlop stated that the meeting had been held with YouTube executives over the company’s work toward safeguarding children and young people online. She emphasized that in this respect, social media companies must take ownership of their contribution to children’s online experience. “I want to meet with the companies to look at what they are doing to protect our students,” she said, acknowledging the need for protective measures while also making clear that banning social media is a priority for the province.
While the details of her upcoming meetings with other social media platforms remain unclear, Minister Dunlop emphasized the broader goal of the initiative: finding solutions to reduce distractions in the classroom. The Ministry of Education previously confirmed that it reached out to social media companies in June, inviting them to engage in these discussions.
In contrast, some Ontario school boards are more belligerent. Several large boards, including Toronto, Peel, and Ottawa, are threatening to take Meta Platforms-the owner of both Facebook and Instagram-to court, along with Snap Inc., the owner of Snapchat, and ByteDance Ltd., the owner of TikTok. These boards have filled a $4 billion lawsuit against the platforms for affecting the attention span, behavior, and academic performance of children, which leaves the educators to bear the consequences in the classroom.
And it is against this backdrop that the Ontario government is building constructive partnerships with tech companies to seek answers to these concerns in a balance between student protection and the responsible use of technology.
