Meta sued in Australian class action over alleged social media harm to children

A class action lawsuit has been filed in an Australian court against Meta Platforms’ Facebook and Instagram, alleging the social media platforms exposed children to harmful content and kept them addicted through algorithms (Channel News Asia / Reuters).

The lawsuit, filed in the Federal Court by law firm MinterEllison this month, is on behalf of eight plaintiffs who allege they were harmed by Meta while they were under the age of 18, and seeks compensation.

“We are aware of this claim and we will defend ourselves vigorously,” a Meta spokesperson said by email. In a suppression order on Monday, the court prohibited the reporting of any information which could reveal the identity of the applicants and the statement of claim (The Hindu).

The suit lands amid rising tensions between Australia and Big Tech following the world-first ban on social media for children under 16, alongside newly proposed rules that could let users switch off algorithm-driven content on their feeds. It could be the first case in Australia to hold a social media company responsible for harm to its users, particularly children and teenagers.

The case was filed against a backdrop of Meta’s settlement in the United States in August, when it agreed to pay about $18 billion to resolve claims with nearly all US states that it designed social media to addict children (The Hindu).