An Italian parents' group and a number of families faced off against Meta and TikTok on Thursday in the first hearing of a lawsuit that seeks to restrict minors' access to social media platforms.

The hearing took place before Milan’s business court and concerns a class injunctive action brought by MOIGE, an Italian parents’ movement, and a group of families against the companies that own ​Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

The lawsuit asks the Milan court to require the platforms to adopt stronger age-verification ​systems for users under 14.

It also seeks to make the platforms remove potentially manipulative algorithms ⁠and provide transparent information on the possible harms of overuse.

MOIGE said it wants to protect some 3.5 million Italian children aged 7 to 14 who it says are illegally active on social media platforms.

TIKTOK AND META'S ​RESPONSES

TikTok said the litigation was still ongoing and that it applies its Community Guidelines rigorously, including those aimed at protecting mental and behavioural health, and proactively removes more than 99% of content that violates them.

"We also continue to invest in safety measures to ​diversify recommended content, block potentially harmful searches and connect vulnerable users with available support resources," a TikTok spokesperson said.

Meta ​strongly disagreed with MOIGE's allegations.

"We know parents worry about the safety of their teens online, which is why we’re consistently making ‌changes ⁠to help protect teens," it said in a statement, mentioning its Teen Accounts and the safeguards they offer.

"We stand by our record and will continue to do more to keep young people safe," Meta added.

EU TO TAKE ACTION

In its statement, MOIGE said that lawyers for Meta and TikTok raised preliminary objections, disputing the competence and jurisdiction of Italian courts to rule on their conduct.

The companies also challenged new ⁠documents submitted by MOIGE's legal team, which the parents' group said showed the firms were aware of the potentially harmful effects of their algorithms on minors, including features ​designed to increase user engagement.

MOIGE's lawyers argued that Italian courts have full jurisdiction over ​the matter, ⁠which they described as an issue of public health, and urged judges to ensure a fast‑tracked procedure given the alleged risks to children.

The court is expected to set a calendar for further hearings at a later date.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this week that the EU executive was targeting addictive and harmful design practices by social media firms in its upcoming Digital Fairness Act.

Amid similar moves by Australia, France and Greece, Spain in February announced plans to ​ban social media use by teenagers.