An Italian mother has joined a landmark lawsuit against Meta and TikTok, alleging that the platforms’ recommendation algorithms repeatedly exposed her 12-year-old daughter to self-harm and depressive content before the girl died by suicide.
The case centers on Rossella, a 12-year-old from northern Italy whose parents say her online activity changed dramatically in the months leading up to her death. According to the family, social media platforms continuously recommended increasingly harmful content after she began searching for material related to depression and emotional distress.
Only after their daughter’s death did her parents discover the extent of her social media use. They found that Rossella had created a secret Instagram account and had been consuming far more online content than they had realized.
Her mother, Irene Roggero Ugues, alleges that recommendation systems amplified her daughter’s struggles by repeatedly feeding her similar content once she showed an interest in it. The family argues that algorithm-driven recommendations created a feedback loop that intensified Rossella’s emotional difficulties over time.
The lawsuit is part of what is believed to be Italy’s first collective legal action directly targeting major social media companies over alleged harms caused to minors through algorithmic recommendations.
Several families have joined the case, seeking stronger protections for children, tighter limits on minors’ access to social media platforms, and greater transparency regarding how recommendation systems operate.
Meta and TikTok strongly reject the allegations. Both companies say they actively remove content that promotes self-harm, suicide, and other harmful behavior. They also point to safety measures designed specifically for younger users, including content restrictions, parental supervision tools, and systems intended to limit exposure to potentially dangerous material.
Meta said it has invested heavily in teen safety features and argued that adolescent mental health is influenced by numerous factors beyond social media. TikTok similarly stated that it removes the vast majority of content that violates its policies and continues to expand safeguards aimed at protecting vulnerable users.
The lawsuit arrives as regulators across Europe increase scrutiny of how social media platforms affect children and teenagers.
Governments and regulators have become increasingly concerned about recommendation algorithms that prioritize engagement and can repeatedly surface emotionally charged content. Critics argue that such systems may unintentionally direct vulnerable users toward increasingly extreme material.
The legal complaint also references concerns about the addictive nature of social media. Experts supporting the plaintiffs argue that features such as likes, notifications, and endless scrolling are designed to encourage prolonged engagement by repeatedly triggering reward responses in the brain.
Some psychologists, however, caution against drawing simple conclusions about the relationship between social media and adolescent mental health, noting that individual experiences vary significantly and that broader social, family, and psychological factors also play important roles.
The case is expected to become a closely watched test of whether social media companies can be held legally responsible for harms allegedly linked to algorithmic recommendation systems.