Families across the country are suing the companies behind Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, and Facebook, claiming these platforms were deliberately designed to addict children and teenagers through features like algorithmic feeds, infinite scroll, streaks, and variable-reward notifications.
If you or your child developed a diagnosed mental health condition after becoming addicted to social media as a minor, you may have a claim. The case review is free and confidential, and you pay no fees or costs unless we recover for you.
Free, confidential case review. No fees or costs unless we recover.
Who May Have a Claim
Every situation is different, and no single factor decides whether a claim can be pursued. The claims being reviewed commonly involve a young person who:
- Used Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, or YouTube heavily, often for hours a day
- Began that heavy use as a child or teenager
- Is now a teenager or young adult
- Was diagnosed with a mental health condition linked to that use
- Has received treatment for it, or is seeking treatment
The conditions most often involved include eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, body dysmorphia, depression or severe anxiety, suicidal ideation or a suicide attempt, and other self-harm.
Claims are also being reviewed for families who lost a young person, and for young people injured while attempting a viral challenge on TikTok.
If this sounds like your situation, a free, confidential review is the next step.
Where These Cases Are Pending
Social media addiction claims are consolidated in two coordinated proceedings. In federal court, In re: Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3047, is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. As of September 2026, more than 3,200 cases are pending there, and new cases continue to be filed.
In California state court, Social Media Cases, JCCP No. 5255, is coordinated in Los Angeles Superior Court before Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl, where roughly 3,000 more cases are pending.
Named defendants include Meta Platforms (Instagram and Facebook), ByteDance (TikTok), Snap Inc. (Snapchat), and Google (YouTube). The claims focus largely on the platforms’ own design choices rather than content posted by other users, a distinction that has allowed important design-based claims to survive the platforms’ Section 230 and First Amendment defenses in both courts. Courts have also held that those defenses bar or limit some claims tied to how the platforms publish other users’ content.
Recent Developments
The first personal injury trial produced a plaintiff verdict. On March 25, 2026, a Los Angeles jury returned a $6 million verdict against Meta and YouTube in the K.G.M. case: $3 million in compensatory damages, apportioned 70 percent to Meta and 30 percent to YouTube, plus $3 million in punitive damages. In June 2026 the court denied the defendants’ post-trial motions, and Both companies have said they will appeal. Snap and TikTok settled their claims in that case in January 2026, before trial, on undisclosed terms and without admitting liability.
Later trial cases settled before reaching a jury. The second California bellwether resolved in July 2026 when the plaintiff settled with Google, TikTok, and Snap and dismissed the claims against Meta without a payment from Meta. In August 2026, TikTok settled with the plaintiffs set for the next trial. That trial, two cases consolidated against Meta, YouTube, and Snap, is set to begin October 28, 2026, with further California trials reported for March and August 2027.
A school district case settled. In May 2026, the first federal bellwether, brought by a Kentucky school district, settled for a reported combined $27 million across defendants. The next school district bellwether is scheduled for February 2027.
Meta settled with the states. On August 26, 2026, midway through the attorneys general’s trial in the federal MDL, Meta agreed to a settlement valued at up to $17.1 billion. At least $12.1 billion is committed over ten years, and the remainder depends on Snap, TikTok, and YouTube adopting comparable terms. The settlement resolves the claims of 51 attorneys general (47 states, the District of Columbia, and three territories), requires changes to Instagram and Facebook, and was approved by Judge Gonzalez Rogers the same day.
A state court ordered Meta to pay about $942 million in New Mexico. In March 2026, a New Mexico jury returned a $375 million verdict against Meta in the state’s child safety case. In August 2026, the court ordered an additional $567 million and directed Meta to overhaul its protections for minors. Meta has said it will appeal.
No court has determined that any defendant is liable to the broader group of plaintiffs, and no global settlement of individual injury claims exists.
The State Settlement Has No Claims Process for Families
Meta’s settlement with the state attorneys general is a law enforcement resolution between Meta and state governments. It is not a class action settlement. The payments go to the participating states, which may use them for any lawful purpose, including remedial or restitution programs. The settlement creates no claims process for individuals: no claims administrator and no claim form for a parent or young adult to file.
The settlement resolved the attorneys general’s claims and expressly preserves individual personal injury claims, including the cases pending in MDL 3047 and JCCP 5255.
If you read about the $17 billion figure and wondered whether your family can file for part of it, the answer is that the settlement has no claim process for families. A personal injury claim is a separate matter, with its own requirements and deadlines.
A Note on Age and Timing
The ages involved surprise people. Because many claimants were minors when the harm began, many are now adults in their late teens and early twenties, and an adult claimant can pursue a claim on their own, without a parent’s involvement.
Deadlines to file are governed by each state’s statute of limitations, and the rules for claims that arose while the injured person was a minor differ from state to state. Because deadlines can expire, waiting can foreclose a claim. If you are unsure whether a deadline has passed, it is worth asking rather than assuming.
What Helps Establish a Claim
Documentation is what separates a viable claim from one that cannot be pursued. The records that matter most are medical, psychiatric, or therapy records showing the diagnosis and treatment, along with any hospitalization or treatment program records. Beyond that, it helps to have:
- Evidence of platform use during the relevant period, such as screen time reports, account history, or downloaded platform data
- School records reflecting the period of decline, where relevant
- Names of treating providers and approximate dates of treatment
You do not need to gather any of this before contacting us. The first conversation usually starts with the diagnosis and any treatment.
See If You Qualify
Free, confidential case review. No fees or costs unless we recover.
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If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide or self-harm, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24 hours a day by calling or texting 988.