Italian Families Challenge Social Media Algorithms After Teen Tragedies

In just a few months, Irene Roggero Ugues witnessed a profound change in her daughter Rossella’s behaviour as social media exposed her to an increasing volume of self-harm content. The 12-year-old later died by suicide.

Only after Rossella’s death did Irene and her husband gain access to her devices. They discovered that she had been using social media far more extensively than they had realised. Among their findings was a secret Instagram profile named “Just a dead pers0n”, using a zero instead of the letter “o”.

According to her parents, Rossella began searching for depressive material in September 2023 because it reflected how she felt. However, social media algorithms continued to recommend similar content. Five months later, she was dead.

“At some point, it seemed to take on a life of its own, growing until it overwhelmed the cheerful, sociable side of her — the brighter part,” Irene said during an interview in Asti, her hometown in northern Italy.

Families Take Legal Action

Rossella’s parents are among several families in Italy pursuing legal action against Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, and TikTok. The case marks the first collective action in Italy to directly challenge social media companies and the operation of their algorithms.

The families are seeking stricter limits on minors’ access to social media platforms as well as greater awareness of the associated risks.

Meta and TikTok reject the allegations that their services harm young people. Both companies state that they have implemented measures to protect younger users by removing harmful content, limiting exposure to risky material and providing tools for families to manage accounts.

Meta said it continues to introduce protections for teenagers through dedicated account settings and built-in safeguards. TikTok said it strictly enforces guidelines designed to protect users’ mental and behavioural health. The company added that it removes the vast majority of content that breaches those rules and invests in measures intended to diversify recommendations, block potentially harmful searches and connect vulnerable users with support services.

Meta declined to comment directly on Rossella’s case while litigation is ongoing. The company stated that young people’s mental health is influenced by a range of factors, including platform use, safety measures and parental involvement.

A Sudden And Devastating Change

Speaking carefully, Irene described her daughter’s experience as resembling a sudden and devastating illness that left her family unable to intervene effectively.

Without algorithmic amplification, she believes the progression of Rossella’s distress might have unfolded differently.

Meanwhile, scrutiny of digital platforms continues to increase across Europe. Britain has announced plans to ban social media use for children under 16, while a ruling in the United States found Meta and Google negligent in designing platforms considered harmful to young people.

At the same time, European Union regulators are strengthening enforcement of the Digital Services Act and pressing online platforms to improve protections for minors and reduce harmful content.

Lawyer Stefano Commodo, who is leading the Italian case alongside the parents’ association MOIGE, said the objective is not to dismiss the benefits of social media. Instead, he argued that the focus should be on removing technological and marketing mechanisms that may harm vulnerable users.

Parents Question Existing Safeguards

Parents involved in the debate argue that existing safeguards are insufficient. They note that children can easily access online tutorials explaining how to bypass filters or avoid time restrictions by switching devices.

Valentina Muraglie, a board member of Italy’s association of large families, said monitoring social media use can become an impossible task for parents.

She pointed to her son Antonio’s experience. As a teenager, he gradually replaced reading with scrolling through social media. Now in his twenties, he struggles to read extensively, which she attributes to the impact of algorithms on attention.

The World Health Organization has warned that problematic social media use among adolescents is increasing. It links such behaviour to reduced well-being, poor sleep and broader health concerns.

Research published in JAMA Paediatrics has identified measurable differences in brain development among heavy social media users, particularly teenagers whose brains are still developing.

The Italian lawsuit argues that platforms employ reward mechanisms similar to those used in slot machines. According to the claim, repeated notifications and “likes” trigger dopamine release and encourage dependency.

Tonino Cantelmi, an adviser to the plaintiffs and director of the School of Specialisation in Cognitive-Interpersonal Psychotherapy in Rome, said these mechanisms can create patterns that resemble addiction.

However, some psychologists urge caution when interpreting the evidence. Federico Tonioni, head of the Web Psychopathology Centre at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, said there are no simple conclusions regarding the impact of social networks on adolescents.

He argued that trust and listening are more effective than excessive parental control. According to Tonioni, control alone does not represent a healthy form of presence in a young person’s life.

For Irene Roggero Ugues, joining the lawsuit is about helping other families recognise risks that she only understood after losing her daughter.

“We underestimated certain risks and didn’t know they existed, but others can still act. There’s no point keeping this to myself, and I don’t think Rossella would mind.”

With inputs from Reuters