Shine Lawyers joins forces with leading US litigator Mark Lanier in social media harm investigation

Shine Lawyers has announced it is working with renowned United States trial lawyer Mark Lanier as it investigates potential Australian legal action against Meta and other social media companies over alleged harms linked to social media addiction and platform design.

Mr Lanier is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading plaintiff lawyers and recently led the successful California case that helped bring global attention to alleged youth harms associated with social media platforms, including claims against Meta and Google’s YouTube.

The investigation is being led through Shine’s International Mass Torts (IMT) practice, which focuses on complex, large-scale claims involving multinational defendants and alleged harm affecting communities across borders. Meta agreed to a landmark US settlement, worth up to US$18 billion, alongside major changes to Facebook and Instagram for young users, including time limits, stronger parental controls, age checks and limits on features alleged to fuel compulsive use.

Shine Lawyers Head of Class Actions Craig Allsopp said the US developments were significant for families in Australia who have raised concerns about the impact of social media on children and young people.

Atreyu’s story and his mother’s “preventable grief”

High profile client Australian filmmaker, actress and Sydney Women’s International Film Festival founder Clare McCann, whose 13-year-old son, award-winning young actor and writer Atreyu McCann, tragically died in May 2025, carries grief for the preventable harm caused by these platforms.

Atreyu’s death has since become the catalyst for his mother’s highly public campaign for stronger protections for children from bullying and other forms of harm, both at school and online.

For Clare, the two issues are inseparable.

“When the bullying Atreyu was experiencing became overwhelming, I agreed to let him leave school because I believed that once he was home, he would be safe.

“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.

“What I could protect him from physically by bringing him home, I later discovered I could not necessarily protect him from digitally. The schoolyard ended at the school gate, but the online world did not.

“That is why my advocacy is focused on the broader responsibility to protect children, wherever harm occurs. Schools, families, technology companies and online platforms all have a role to play, and when those safeguards fail, children and their families are left to bear the consequences.”

“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.”

Clare has also since developed a free to use technology in Atreyu’s honour designed to help families safely document bullying and harassment, identify patterns of behaviour and escalate serious concerns before it is too late. This is called the Atreyu McCann Bullying Shield Support.

“The recent settlement in the United States is a major moment in the global conversation about the responsibilities of social media companies and the safety of young users,” Mr Allsopp said.

“For years, families have been asking whether enough has been done to protect children from platform features designed to maximise engagement. These are serious questions, and they deserve serious scrutiny.

“Working with Mark Lanier gives Shine access to significant international experience in this emerging area of litigation. His involvement in the US proceedings has helped expose the way these products are alleged to have been designed, promoted and used by young people.

“We are now examining whether similar legal issues arise in Australia, including whether Australian children and families may have claims connected to the design, operation and promotion of social media platforms.”

The US litigation alleged social media companies designed products that encouraged excessive use by children and teens while misrepresenting or failing to adequately warn of the potential mental health risks associated with those platforms. Meta has denied wrongdoing in the US settlement.

“This is not about banning technology or social media,” Mr Allsopp said. “It is about accountability, transparency and whether companies that profit from children’s attention have taken appropriate steps to protect them from foreseeable harm.”

“If Australian families have been affected, they deserve answers,” he said.