When Amanda Todd, a teenager from British Columbia, sat down at her computer and detailed the constant bullying and blackmail she faced on social media, it shocked parents everywhere. Twelve years later, her family joined others in a lawsuit alleging those risks still exist for children online.
Just weeks after the video went viral, 15-year-old Todd committed suicide in October 2012.
“Why aren't children's lives safer?” asked his mother, Carol Todd, in an interview from Port Coquitlam. “Why are more children harmed?”
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court earlier this month on behalf of 11 families, two of whom are Canadian, who say their children have suffered physical and mental harm through social media platforms. It alleges that some of the world's largest technology companies intentionally designed and marketed defective products to children in order to boost participation numbers.
Some children have committed suicide after being attacked by strangers in a sextortion operation, where a person threatens to reveal sexual information or images. Others developed eating disorders and depression and had to be hospitalized.
The lawsuit names Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, along with Snapchat, the parent company of TikTok, ByteDance, Discord and Google, which owns YouTube.
“What happened to these children was not an accident or a coincidence. “It was a predictable consequence of deliberate design decisions they made to maximize engagement at the expense of safety,” said Matthew Bergman, founding attorney at the Legal Center for Social Media Victims, which is handling the case.
“They make money by selling ads to children and selling children's data.”
Google said these accusations are incorrect. Spokesman José Castañeda said Google has created services and policies in collaboration with experts to provide age-appropriate parental controls and experiences.
Other companies did not comment. Their websites generally say they have age limits and prohibit harmful content. TikTok's website says it moderates content “that includes goods or activities that may be risky, addictive, dangerous, fraudulent, or require a heightened degree of care.”
Receive the latest national news
For news affecting Canada and around the world, sign up to receive breaking news alerts right as they happen.
A growing number of lawsuits have been filed against tech giants alleging that children are harmed through exposure to social media.
The latest lawsuit cites internal documents and investigations, including Facebook articles, posted by a whistleblower. “Young people are the best,” he said, according to the Meta documents. He wants to attract people to serve him from an early age.
Todd started using Facebook in 2008. The platform was new and his mother, like most people in the world, thought it was designed to be fun and safe. Todd soon becomes trapped in years of blackmail.
Aiden Cobban, who is Dutch, began blackmailing Todd with a photo of her lifting her shirt in a chat. His Canadian trial heard that Cobain used 22 online aliases to harass Todd over a two-year period, starting when she was 12.
Cuban was convicted of harassment and extortion in Canada. He was also convicted in the Netherlands on similar charges of blackmailing 33 girls and a gay man online.
The lawsuit alleges that there are several steps Meta could have taken to make its product safer for minors and could prevent strangers from accessing children.
The lawsuit includes the family of another Canadian teenager who died more than a decade after Todd's case made headlines across the country.
Harry Burke turned to his father for help after the 17-year-old from Prince Edward Island sent an explicit photo on Snapchat and was sexually blackmailed for money.
His parents planned to go to the RCMP in the morning, but that night Burke committed suicide, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also represents American parents who say their children have become depressed and suicidal because of social media platforms.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said earlier this year that the mental health crisis among young people is an emergency “and social media has emerged as a major contributor,” and called for a platform to be posted. tobacco-like warning label.
The lawsuit argues that “these are dangerous products … and are expected to cause harm to children,” Bergman said. He said it is designed to increase engagement among young people by showing more extreme material while encouraging them to engage more with the platform, leading to addiction and psychological harm.
Concern about the security of social networks has provoked a reaction from legislators on both sides of the border.
Canada's Liberal government is trying to pass an online harms bill. It has faced criticism, including from opposition conservatives, who say it will create a new bureaucracy.
The United States is also moving forward with the Child Online Safety Act to create a “duty of care,” a legal term that requires companies to take reasonable steps to prevent harm. This bill has passed the Senate but it is not known what will happen in the House.
Carol Todd encouraged parents to look for resources like the Canadian Center for Child Protection and make sure their children know they can talk to an adult if something happens.
She said it's important to join other families in suing to make social media safer for children.
“I can't bring my son back… This is to keep the other children safe.”
—With files from The Associated Press
