Meta faces Australian lawsuit over alleged social media harm to children

Class enactment could beryllium archetypal successful Australia to blasted societal media for harming its users.

Meta and its societal media platforms Facebook and Instagram are facing a people enactment suit successful Australia implicit allegations that addictive plan features are harming children and teenagers.

The lawsuit, filed by MinterEllison successful the Australian Federal Court, seeks to retrieve compensation for existent and erstwhile users of Facebook and Instagram who assertion they were exposed to harmful contented oregon developed an addiction to societal media arsenic a effect of utilizing those platforms, the instrumentality steadfast said successful a connection released connected Thursday.

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“This proceeding raises important questions astir the plan and cognition of societal media platforms and their interaction connected children and teenagers successful Australia. Those questions volition present beryllium considered done the Federal Court process,” MinterEllison Partner William Nolan said successful the statement.

The people enactment suit was filed connected behalf of 8 plaintiffs who allege they were harmed by Meta portion they were beneath the property of 18.

In a suppression bid connected Monday, the tribunal prohibited the reporting of immoderate accusation that could uncover their identities and the connection of claim.

“We are alert of this assertion and we volition support ourselves vigorously,” a Meta spokesperson said.

Litigation Lending Services said it was backing the people enactment for Australian families who “would person nary applicable means of pursuing these claims against a planetary exertion giant”.

The suit comes amid rising tensions betwixt Australia and Big Tech aft a world-first ban connected societal media for children beneath 16 successful 2025, and recently projected rules that could fto users switch disconnected algorithm-driven content connected their feeds.

Meta agreed successful August to wage $18bn to settee with astir each US states to resoluteness claims that it designed societal media to addict children.