Meta faces Australian class action over alleged harm to young users

Meta is being sued in an Australian court in a class action that has been filed on behalf of eight plaintiffs. According to the reports, the plaintiffs allege they were harmed by Meta while under the age of 18 and are seeking compensation. The lawsuit targets the company over its exposure of young users to harmful content.

The class action could be the first of its kind in Australia to hold a social media company responsible for harm inflicted on its users. The suit seeks to recover compensation for Facebook and Instagram users who either were exposed to harmful content or developed an addiction to the platforms.

Meanwhile, legislative action on social media regulation has advanced elsewhere. Greece's parliament passed a law banning children under 15 from accessing social media, following an announcement by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in April. The measure, described as "difficult but necessary," will take effect on January 1, 2027.

According to reports, Greece joins a growing number of countries imposing restrictions on young people's use of social media applications. The rules are designed to protect children's mental health. Australia last year became the first country to force many social media companies to prevent children from having accounts.

In the United Kingdom, the online regulator Ofcom has admitted that landmark online safety measures have failed to limit the proportion of children suffering harm from social media. An Ofcom review of the first nine months of the new regime found that the proportion of children being fed unsafe content remained almost unchanged from previous levels.

Campaigners have branded Ofcom's assessment "staggering," pointing to the lack of progress in protecting young users from content that often leaves them frightened, confused and upset.