Atreyu McCann had big dreams for the big screen.
“He was full of talent, he was very creative,” mum Clare said.
Atreyu, 13, had dreams for the big screen – but relentless cyberbullying cut his life short. Supplied
By the age of 13, Atreyu had won three acting awards and was starting high school in Sydney.
Clare says her vivacious boy began to struggle.
“He was getting bullied pretty badly, and it was just relentless,” said Clare, who decided to pull her son out of the school.
A month later, Atreyu took his life.
“When I found him I was so confused because we were so close,” Clare said.
Until social media restrictions for users under 16 took effect last December, 13-year-olds like Atreyu could create their own TikTok accounts.
Aussie mum takes on Meta over online bullying after son’s tragic death. A Current Affair
Clare went through his account and discovered a separate section where she could look up his search, comment and view history.
“He’d been looking up how to end his life, and he looked it up so many times in such a short period that there should have been an emergency trigger,” she said.
Clare was shocked Atreyu was exposed to harmful content, despite installing child protection settings on all his social media applications.
“We don’t want it to be a battle between parents and big tech,” said Shine Lawyers head of class actions Craig Allsopp.
“We want big tech and the social media companies to take accountability.”
Craig and his team at Shine Lawyers are currently researching a potential lawsuit against Meta, Google’s YouTube, and Snapchat.
Clare was shocked Atreyu was exposed to harmful content, despite installing child protection settings on all his social media applications. A Current Affair
“The class action is about trying to get compensation for those already harmed, but in the meantime, lean on the momentum to push for social media to be better moving forward,” Craig said.
It follows a landmark settlement with Meta in the United States worth up to $US18 billion ($25.9 billion).
Mark Zuckerberg’s company agreed to pay the money over a 10-year period to 51 states and territories, funding child protection and mental health initiatives.
Stronger child protection measures will also be introduced on Facebook and Instagram, including time limits, removing like and reaction counts, and disabling notifications from the apps during school time and overnight.
“It will be a battle in Australia,” Craig said.
“We have different legal tests, and we’ll need to establish the behaviour of the social media companies in Australia and prove things to the Australian standard.”
Clare is throwing her support behind the legal action and encouraging other parents to register.
“We want big tech and the social media companies to take accountability,” Craig said. A Current Affair
“I cannot change what happened to Atreyu, but I can keep saying his name, and keep growing the creative legacy we built together, and keep pushing for practical change,” Clare said.
More information on the social media class action investigation can be found here.
If you or someone you know is suffering from mental health issues or struggling with bullying, call Lifeline on 13 11 12. Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800.
