After 20 years of unfettered growth, a realisation is dawning about the true cost of social media. And it’s the younger generations facing the brunt of the deadly consequences. As Australia grapples with how to regulate social media, in the US, thousands of parents are taking up the fight to hold these hugely profitable tech giants accountable…through the courts. In the last Four Corners episode of 2024, reporter Louise Milligan speaks to whistleblowers, one of the lawyers running the case, and a family devastated by the loss of their 18-year-old daughter. As Meta introduces new protections for young people, insiders and families who’ve witnessed the most tragic consequences tell Four Corners enough is enough.
CHAPTERS 00:00: The social experiment
02:27: Online anger spilling onto the streets
04:20: Social Media riot 06:35: Disinformation campaign
09:09: Extremist influencers
13:20: Forced to flee
16:00: Tik Tok
17:35: US election and disinformation
21:22: Elon Musk
26:45: The battle against big tech
30:25: Annalee Schott
34:20: The algorithm
37:04: Mark Zuckerberg
42:58: The warnings
This episode was originally broadcast as ‘Disconnected’ on 4 November 2024 on ABC TV and ABC iview. Four Corners is Australia’s premier investigations documentary series. Follow Four Corners on Facebook: / abc4corners Subscribe to the Four Corners weekly newsletter: https://www.abc.net.au/news/subscribe Find out more at the Four Corners website: https://www.abc.net.au/news/programs/... Note: In most cases, our captions are auto-generated.
