'Psychiatric injury': Three more major social media sites sued for harm to kids
The class action represents Australian minors who have suffered by using the platforms.
Following a landmark Australian class action being launched against Meta last week, YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok will now also face action for alleged harm against minors.
The Australian reports that Court documents shared between the Minter Ellison and Shine Lawyers law firms confirm they are both conducting class action claims.
Shine Lawyers investigations manager Naomi Hartcher said in an email to Minter Ellison:
“We anticipate that the class will comprise persons who, while under the age of 18, used one or more of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok or YouTube in Australia and who have suffered psychiatric injury as a result.
“We anticipate pleading claims in negligence and under the Australian Consumer Law, including misleading or deceptive conduct, statutory unconscionability, and breach of consumer guarantees as to the safety of the products and services supplied by the proposed defendants."
The leading media trade publication in Australia.
Get our top stories straight to your inbox daily by signing up to our Newsletter
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services.
It was also confirmed in the correspondence that claims will be filed "on behalf of Australian children and adolescents who have suffered psychiatric injury allegedly caused or contributed to by their use of social media platforms, arising from the design, operation and marketing of those platforms and the alleged targeting of young users.”
Craig Allsopp, Shine's class action head, wrote:
“Shine first (started) monitoring developments in relation to potential harm caused by social media platforms in 2024. Shine commenced more active investigations in around August 2026.
“Shine has conducted a detailed investigation into when social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube introduced features which induced social media addiction and when the platform operators became aware of the consequences of their technology.”
“Atreyu did not stand a chance against algorithms"
Mediaweek reported on November 3 that a Federal Court class action was brought on behalf of eight anonymous applicants, and is being funded by Litigation Lending Services.
The suit was filed in the Federal Court by eight applicants who are seeking compensation for being exposed to harmful content/social media addiction, law firm Minter Ellison and Litigation Lending said in a statement at the time.
The firm is representing Australian filmmaker Clare McCann, whose 13-year-old son Atreyu McCann took his own life just five months before Albanese's social media ban came into effect.
“Atreyu was using a child-protected phone during this time and what I understood to be an age-appropriate social media platform. Like so many parents, I believed the protections surrounding children’s accounts meant something,” Ms McCann said in court documents.
“I believed that once he was home, he would be safe.
“Atreyu did not stand a chance against algorithms that could follow him home, making the place I believed would be his sanctuary from schoolyard bullying feel like another trap he could not escape.
“I hope this investigation brings proper scrutiny and accountability to some of the most powerful social media companies in the world.
“More importantly, I hope what we learn leads to safeguards that actually protect children and saves lives, so no other family has to experience this preventable grief.”
More from Mediaweek
The leading media trade publication in Australia.
Get our top stories straight to your inbox daily by signing up to our Newsletter
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services.
.png%3Fv%3D1793746724561&w=3840&q=75)
