The social media lawsuit campaign against Meta, Google, Snap, and TikTok now covers thousands of individual plaintiffs, dozens of school districts, and attorneys general from across the country, and in March 2026 it produced its first jury verdict: a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google’s YouTube liable for designing addictive platforms that harmed a young woman’s mental health, awarding $6 million.1NPR. Meta YouTube Social Media Trial Verdict The dollar figure was modest, but the legal reasoning behind it carried weight: these companies can be held responsible not for what users post, but for how the platforms themselves are built.
The First Verdict: K.G.M. v. Meta and Google
The plaintiff, identified in court records as K.G.M. and called “Kaley” by her attorneys, is a 20-year-old woman from Chico, California.2CBS News. Instagram Meta YouTube Social Media Trial Plaintiff Testifies KGM Her case was selected as the first bellwether out of roughly 2,500 plaintiffs in a coordinated proceeding in Los Angeles Superior Court before Judge Carolyn Kuhl.3Courthouse News Service. Meta and Google Hit With $6 Million Verdict for Social Media Harms to Young Woman Kaley alleged that Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat drove compulsive use starting at a young age and contributed to depression, anxiety, and body dysmorphia.
TikTok and Snap both settled with her before trial. TikTok reached a preliminary settlement on January 27, 2026, the day jury selection was set to begin, and Snap settled shortly before opening statements. Both settlements are confidential, and TikTok did not admit wrongdoing.4BBC News. TikTok Reaches Settlement in Social Media Addiction Lawsuit5Tech Policy Press. Youth Social Media Addiction Lawsuits Outlook Meta and Google were the only remaining defendants when the case went to the jury.
On March 25, 2026, after more than eight days of deliberation, the jury returned $6 million in total damages: $3 million compensatory and $3 million punitive.1NPR. Meta YouTube Social Media Trial Verdict6The New York Times. Social Media Trial Verdict The trial included testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and internal company documents that plaintiffs’ counsel said showed the companies knew their platforms were addictive and particularly harmful to young users.3Courthouse News Service. Meta and Google Hit With $6 Million Verdict for Social Media Harms to Young Woman
How the Case Got Around Section 230
Lead plaintiff’s attorney Mark Lanier argued that the apps’ architecture was a “defective product,” sidestepping Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act by focusing on platform design rather than user-generated content.1NPR. Meta YouTube Social Media Trial Verdict That distinction is what allowed the case to survive years of motions to dismiss.
The design features most frequently targeted in the broader litigation include:
- Algorithmic recommendations that learn what keeps a user engaged and serve increasingly emotional or extreme material.
- Infinite scroll, which removes natural stopping points.
- Push notifications designed to pull users back to the app, including during school hours and overnight.
- Likes and other features that quantify social approval.
- Augmented-reality photo filters that can distort self-image and contribute to body dysmorphia.7Nolo. Lawsuits for Social Media Addiction and Mental Harm
Meta and Google moved to set aside the verdict, with Meta filing on May 4, 2026, and Google filing a similar motion that raised Section 230 and First Amendment defenses.8Reuters. Meta Asks California Judge to Throw Out Landmark Social Media Addiction Verdict9The Hill. Meta YouTube Appeal Verdict On June 9, 2026, Judge Kuhl denied both motions, writing that Section 230 “does not address the companies’ design choices” and that there was “substantial evidence that Plaintiff was harmed by the design features of Instagram, regardless of any of the content found on that platform.” She upheld the punitive award, citing evidence that both companies had disregarded the safety of minors.10CNBC. Google and Meta Denied New Trial in Youth Social Media Addiction Case11Law.com. Los Angeles Judge Upholds Novel $6M Social Media Addiction Verdict Both companies plan to appeal.
The Federal MDL
The federal branch of the litigation is consolidated as MDL 3047, In Re: Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation, in the Northern District of California under Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.12CourtListener. In Re Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability As of mid-2026, at least 2,407 claims are pending in the MDL, with more in state courts. The defendants are Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Google (YouTube), Snap (Snapchat), and ByteDance (TikTok). Plaintiffs include individual minors and their families, school districts seeking reimbursement for mental health spending, and state attorneys general.13Sokolove Law. Social Media Addiction
Judge Rogers has let the majority of state attorney general claims proceed, finding that Meta’s “alleged yearslong public campaign of deception” about addiction risks fell within state consumer protection frameworks. She also ruled that school districts could pursue negligence and public nuisance claims, though she dismissed certain theories on Section 230 and First Amendment grounds.14Tech Policy Press. Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation MDL No. 3047
The California state coordinated proceeding, JCCP 5255, runs separately in Los Angeles Superior Court before Judge Kuhl and consolidates roughly 1,000 or more personal injury cases against the same four companies.15California Superior Court. Master Complaint JCCP 5255 The K.G.M. trial took place within this state proceeding, not the federal MDL.
School Districts and the Breathitt County Settlement
Judge Rogers selected 11 bellwether cases: six school districts and five individual plaintiffs.5Tech Policy Press. Youth Social Media Addiction Lawsuits Outlook The six school districts were chosen on June 13, 2025 from Maryland, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Arizona, and defendants filed summary judgment motions against them on September 30, 2025.16American Enterprise Institute. Federal Multidistrict Litigation and Social Media Addiction: Onward to Summary Judgment and Bellwether Trials
The first school district bellwether to resolve was Breathitt County, Kentucky. On May 21, 2026, shortly before a scheduled trial in Oakland, the district reached settlements with all four defendants totaling approximately $27 million. Meta agreed to pay roughly $9 million, Snap $8 million, TikTok $8 million, and Google slightly more than $2 million. Google also agreed to provide the district with training programs for teachers using its video platform in classrooms. The district had originally sought over $60 million to fund mental health programs and digital safety curricula.17Bloomberg Law. Social Media Giants to Pay $27 Million to Settle School Lawsuit
State Attorney General Cases
The day before the K.G.M. verdict, a jury in Santa Fe delivered an even larger blow to Meta. On March 24, 2026, the jury in State of New Mexico v. Meta Platforms, Inc. ordered Meta to pay $375 million in civil penalties after finding it had misled consumers about platform safety and failed to protect children from sexual predators. Damages were calculated at $5,000 per violation under the state’s Unfair Practices Act. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez brought the case, which focused on lax safety protocols that allegedly allowed predators to contact minors.18New Mexico Department of Justice. New Mexico Department of Justice Wins Landmark Verdict Against Meta19The New York Times. Meta New Mexico Child Safety Violations A bench trial on additional public nuisance claims and injunctive relief, including mandatory age verification, was scheduled for May 2026. Meta has stated it will appeal.
In November 2025, 29 state attorneys general asked Judge Rogers to consolidate their consumer protection claims into a single trial within the MDL. Meta has opposed the request, arguing that variations in state consumer protection laws make consolidation unworkable. New York City took a different path, withdrawing from the California coordinated litigation in October 2025 to file its own federal suit in the Southern District of New York.13Sokolove Law. Social Media Addiction
What Comes Next
A second individual plaintiff trial is set to begin on July 27, 2026 in the California state proceedings.20The Lanier Law Firm. Court Denies Motion to Overturn $6 Million Verdict in Social Media Addiction Case Federal bellwether trials for the remaining school district cases are scheduled for the summer of 2026.16American Enterprise Institute. Federal Multidistrict Litigation and Social Media Addiction: Onward to Summary Judgment and Bellwether Trials Discovery disputes continue, with plaintiffs seeking sanctions against Meta over the production of more than 73,000 documents as of March 2026.13Sokolove Law. Social Media Addiction
The appeals of the K.G.M. verdict will test whether the “design as defect” theory survives appellate scrutiny, particularly the line between Section 230 immunity and product liability. That answer is likely to determine whether the thousands of remaining cases settle, go to trial, or get dismissed. For now, two juries in two states, within 48 hours of each other, concluded that the platforms were built to be addictive and that someone should pay for the consequences.