A Queensland law firm is investigating the case for a class action targeting Meta and other social media operators after the company agreed to settle a claim in the US regarding direct harms to children and teenagers.
According to Peter Carter, the Director of Carter Capner Law, the Australian government’s proposed My Feed My Way legislation is a good start to holding social media giants accountable.
However, Carter believes more can be done to address what he calls the “brutal exploitation” of these firms.
“These behemoths care only about the almighty dollar, so while we fight them with legislation, we must also fight them in the courts,” Carter said in a September 10 statement.
“While every parent wants to achieve a reduction in children’s excessive screen time, the companies have been optimising systems designed to defeat that effort.
“It is the infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, personalised recommendations, streaks and reward loops that turn their attention into a commercial resource.”
Carter observed that platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are “designed to drive excessive use among children and teenagers” and that Meta not only was aware of the harm it was causing younger users, but that it also directly misled families regarding those risks.
“Continuously supplying new content encourages compulsive behaviour and reduces users’ ability to exercise self-control, even in adults,” Carter said.
“Willingness to open an app should not absolve a company from the harm it causes if the app has deliberately been engineered to make disengagement difficult.
“Platforms must provide genuine stopping points, easy chronological-feed options, transparent controls over recommendations and notifications and prominent tools allowing people to set limits that the platform cannot immediately undermine.”
The proposed class action will rely on Meta’s alleged breaches of the Australian Consumer Law, and whether or not Meta “had reason to know its design substantially impaired users’ capacity to disengage while continuous optimisation of attention produced revenue”.
The law firm said a claim of this kind would ordinarily seek compensation for:
- The out-of-pocket costs of counselling and other treatment.
- The cost of future support.
- Tutoring and other study-related costs due to interrupted schooling.
- Lost income and other earnings.
- Pain and suffering.
The claim could also seek orders to change social media platforms, as Meta has already agreed to do in the wake of its recent US settlement.
Concerned parents and other individuals can register an expression of interest to join the proposed class action here.
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