“European lawsuits over child suicide and self-harm caused by social media pile up”, 18 June 2026

…Civil lawsuits brought forward by families in France and Italy allege that platform algorithms contribute to suicide and self-harm. Meanwhile, cases in the Netherlands and Germany target addictive design, child safety and manipulation…

Earlier this year, an Italian rights group battled it out with TikTok and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, in a Milan court.

The class action lawsuit, the first of its kind filed in Italy, asks the court to force platforms to adopt stronger age-verification systems for users under 14…

Meta said in a statement to Euronews Next that the company is "consistently making changes to help protect teens," on their platforms. 

They "strongly disagree with the allegations," in the Italian lawsuit against them, claiming that it "ignores our longstanding commitment to supporting young people." 

Meta mentioned that its Teen Accounts provide default protections for teens, including limits on who can contact them, the content they see and how much time they spend on Facebook and Instagram. 

"We stand by our record and will continue to do more to keep young people safe," a spokesperson said…

Euronews Next also reached out to TikTok about these first hearings but did not receive an immediate reply.

In 2024, a group of French families called Algos Victima sued TikTok over exposing teenagers to harmful content, which led to two suicides.

The families allege in the lawsuit that the platform’s algorithm exposed children to content promoting self-harm, eating disorders and suicide…