The school boards taking aim at social media giants

Plus, Ontario's international student destinations and cracking down on Airbnb [The Star] First Up [By Kevin Jiang] By Kevin Jiang Good morning. Here’s the latest on a $4.5 billion lawsuit against social media giants, Ontario’s international student numbers and Toronto mulling an Airbnb crackdown. DON’T MISS Jenny Kane/AP Photo SOCIAL MEDIA [Ontario school boards are suing Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for $4.5 billion]( Four Ontario school boards have launched lawsuits totalling $4.5 billion against the social media goliaths, accusing them of deliberately hurting students, interfering with their learning and harming their mental health, Kristin Rushowy reports. In separate cases filed yesterday, the Toronto Catholic board and the public boards in Toronto, Peel and Ottawa allege the platforms were “designed for compulsive use (and) have rewired the way children think, behave and learn.” Studies show more than 90 per cent of kids in Grades 7 to 12 use social media daily, with 45 per cent of them scrolling for more than five hours each day. [Here’s what you need to know about the suit](. - Word from the companies: Of the three companies named in the lawsuit, only Snapchat responded to the Star’s inquiries before publication. “We will always have more work to do, we feel good about the role Snapchat plays in helping close friends feel connected, happy and prepared as they face the many challenges of adolescence,” a spokesperson said. - Why it matters: [Studies have shown “overwhelming” evidence of the toll of social media on youth]( with links to harmful health habits including alcohol and drug use, gambling, unhealthy eating, anti-social behaviours and risky sex. Supplied Photo/Centennial College education [Almost all of Ontario’s international student spots will be reserved for public institutions]( Ontario is reserving some 96 per cent of its 235,000 study permit applications for publicly assisted colleges and universities — essentially freezing out the province’s private career colleges, Kristin Rushowy and Nicholas Keung report. “We are protecting the integrity of our province’s post-secondary education system by attracting the best and brightest international students to Ontario to study in areas that are critical to our economy,” Colleges and Universities Minister Jill Dunlop said in a written statement. Applications for skilled trades, STEM and child-care programs will be prioritized, and no school will be allowed to exceed its current permit numbers, the government said. [Take a look at the details](. - Bad news for: Ontario’s private career colleges, which will not receive any applications. “Career Colleges Ontario (CCO) is disappointed by the absence of permit allocations for our member institutions,” the chair of the industry group said, noting the need for skilled workers that “our institutions overwhelmingly train.” - Miss something? [Ottawa capped Canada’s international student permits]( after the number of permit holders tripled in the last decade — fuelled by aggressive recruiting and unregulated foreign agents. - The fallout: [The new limits are expected to cost colleges billions]( leading to more than $3 billion in lost revenue over the next three years, Tuesday’s provincial budget revealed. It’s contributed to Ontario’s ballooning $9.8-billion deficit. Susan Kao/Toronto Star Photo Illustration housing [Toronto looks to step up enforcement of Airbnb rentals and crack down on rule-breaking hosts]( Toronto could soon clamp down on the short-term rental market with measures targeting rule-breaking hosts on AirBnB and other platforms, Ben Spurr reports. City Council’s housing committee will review a report next week that recommends annual property inspections, improved data-sharing practices to catch phoney registrations, strengthened enforcement of the rule that hosts must live at the property they rent out and a raft of other measures. To help pay for all this, staff recommended hiking fees paid by hosts and booking websites. [Here’s what a change could look like]( - Go deeper: People are always looking for opportunities to skirt the rules,” Toronto’s executive director of licensing and standards said of the “lucrative industry” of short-term rentals that netted hosts in the city $215 million last year. - What we know: After Toronto introduced a bylaw cracking down on short-term renters, a Star investigation found a cottage industry of short-term rental hosting companies has [popped up to help investors evade city rules](. - Another angle: Ottawa is calling on banks, credit bureaus, landlords and more to include rent payments in people’s credit scores, in a bid to help Canadians secure better mortgage rates and address the housing crisis. [But it won’t enforce the move — here’s why](. WHAT ELSE “This is a story you made up.” [The defence accused Toronto cops of colluding to lie about how Const. Jeffrey Northrup died](. Justin Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland are on a mission. [Here’s what’s behind it](. In a rare penalty, a Toronto cop has been fired for misconduct — [including an on-duty assault of a cyclist](. [Toronto police have laid 150 charges in “Project Paranoid,”]( an undercover auto theft investigation. These people say they’re being harassed for their human rights work — [and that Ottawa is doing nothing to stop it](. Our animation shows [what happens when not enough people are protected from measles](. Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are [stunned by the war’s toll on Palestinian children](. [Donald Trump has endorsed a $60 God Bless The USA Bible]( saying “it’s my favourite book.” Having imperfect teeth in Canada is really, really expensive — [I should know, I lost 14 of mine in my 20s](. As details about victims emerge, [the sheer, horrible scale of the Baltimore bridge collapse becomes clear](. “No one would touch it.” The creators of Les Misérables thought it would flop. [Now the unstoppable hit is in Toronto for a seventh time](. This Toronto librarian started a rude cross-stitching program — [and it’s full every time](. POV Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick [Pierre Poilievre says one thing. 200 experts refute it. Who to believe?]( CLOSE-UP R.J. Johnston/The Star ST. LAWRENCE MARKET: [Volunteers were hard at work fixing beloved household items for free at the St. Lawrence REmarket](. The two-day event is held every four months to help divert waste away from the landfill, Patty Winsa reports. The last time it happened, participants donated nearly five tonnes of clothing that would’ve been bound for the trash. Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_211288). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. If you're not enjoying these emails, please tell us how we can make them better by emailing newsletterfeedback@thestar.ca. 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