Meta faces Australia-first alleged youth-harm class action

An Australia-first class action has been filed in the Federal Court against Meta and its Australian subsidiaries, alleging that Facebook and Instagram are addictive by design and expose children and teenagers to harmful content. The claim argues that Meta knew of potential risks to young users and designed features to encourage engagement, contributing to harm to their mental health and well-being. Brought on behalf of eight unnamed lead applicants, the case adds to growing legal and public scrutiny of social media companies’ responsibility for protecting young users.