Social media companies sued over deaths of 4 teens amid rising pressure over child safety

The families of four teenagers who died by suicide are suing Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube over what they describe as "years of escalating harms" from using their platforms that eventually resulted in their deaths.

The four teens who died by suicide each experienced harms including social media addiction, severe sleep deprivation, depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation after years of using the social platforms, the complaint states.

The Social Media Victims Law Center is bringing the suit on behalf of the families, and its founding attorney, Matthew Bergman, said it’s “particularly salient” that the children in this case died “long after” similar suits had been filed.

Social media companies sued over deaths of four teens as pressure, lawsuits over child safety mount  AP News

The parents of four teenagers who died by suicide are suing Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube

The parents of four teenagers who died by suicide are suing Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube

Before the ban, nearly 86pc of children surveyed reported using at least one age-restricted platform. Three months later, that figure remained above 81pc.

More than eight in 10 teenagers were still using social media three months after the government’s landmark ban for under-16s, the country’s internet regulator has found.

More than eight in 10 teenagers were still using social media three months after the government’s landmark ban for under-16s, the country’s internet regulator has found.

More than eight in 10 Australian teenagers are still using social media three months after the government's landmark ban.

In a recent study, eSafety found most children between the ages of 10 and 15 were using social media as frequently in March as ‌they had ‌before the ban.

Most Australian teens still on social media three months after under-16 ban began, study finds  Reuters

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