The Social Media Lawsuit
Over 2,000 families, schools, and state governments have sued companies like Meta, TikTok, and Snap. They claim these apps were designed to be addictive—and that the companies knew they were hurting kids.
Official case name and court details
Case: In re Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation
Number: 4:22-md-03047-YGR
Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of California
"MDL" stands for Multidistrict Litigation—a way to handle many similar lawsuits together in one court.
What's This Case About?
This Multidistrict Litigation consolidates thousands of lawsuits alleging that social media companies knowingly designed products with features that addict minors and cause serious mental health harms.
Hon. Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers
active
"This litigation challenges the fundamental business model of the internet. If successful, it could force companies to redesign algorithms to prioritize safety over engagement."
Test Cases Going to Trial
With thousands of lawsuits, the court picked a handful to try first. These "test cases" will show how juries respond—and help everyone decide whether to settle or keep fighting.
Procedural Timeline
40 State Attorneys General Urge Congress to Pass Senate KOSA Version
A bipartisan coalition of 40 state attorneys general, led by New York AG Letitia James, sent a letter to congressional leaders urging passage of the Senate version of the Kids Online Safety Act (S. 1748) and rejecting the House version (H.R. 6484). The AGs argue that the House bill's preemption language would undermine existing state laws protecting children online, including New York's SAFE for Kids Act and similar legislation in other states. The coalition supports the Senate version because it preserves state authority to enact stronger protections, includes a duty-of-care requirement for social media companies, and expands the list of harms to include suicide, eating disorders, compulsive use, and other mental health issues. The letter reflects growing frustration among state officials who have been leading regulatory efforts while federal action has stalled.
Kids Online Safety Legislation Advances in Both Chambers
Congress moved forward on multiple children's online safety bills on March 6, 2026. The Senate passed the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) by unanimous consent, updating the 1998 law to require parental consent for data collection from users under 17 and changing the knowledge standard from "actual knowledge" to "knowledge fairly implied on the basis of objective circumstances." The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act 28-24 along party lines, which incorporates the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and 11 other measures. However, the House version weakened many protections from the Senate's KOSA bill, removing the "duty of care" provision and including broad preemption language that would override stronger state laws. The legislation now moves to the full House for consideration.
Delaware Court Rules Meta Cannot Use Insurance to Cover Defense Costs
Delaware Superior Court Judge Sheldon K. Rennie ruled that Meta's insurance companies are not obligated to provide defense coverage in the social media addiction litigation. The court found that the allegations describe "deliberate and intentional acts rather than accidents" and therefore do not trigger coverage under Meta's commercial general liability policies. The ruling applies to policies from Hartford, Chubb, and more than 20 other insurers. Meta has 30 days to appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court. The decision significantly increases Meta's financial exposure, as the company must now fund its own legal defense in the thousands of pending federal and state cases.
New Mexico State Trial Against Meta Begins
The State of New Mexico opened its consumer protection case against Meta in Santa Fe, presenting video depositions of CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri. New Mexico alleges Meta violated state consumer protection laws by failing to disclose risks of addiction and child sexual exploitation on its platforms. The trial runs parallel to the ongoing California JCCP bellwether and federal MDL trials.
Federal Court Blocks Virginia Social Media Time Limit Law
U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles issued a preliminary injunction blocking Virginia from enforcing S.B. 854, which would have limited minors under 16 to one hour per day on social media platforms. Judge Giles ruled the law is likely unconstitutional under the First Amendment because it discriminates based on content type—exempting provider-uploaded content (news, sports, gaming) while restricting user-generated content. The ruling highlights the constitutional challenges facing state efforts to regulate youth social media use. Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones filed a notice of appeal to the Fourth Circuit on March 3.
Plaintiff K.G.M. Testifies in Los Angeles Trial
Plaintiff K.G.M. testified in the first bellwether trial, describing her use of social media platforms beginning at age 6. She told the jury that her use became compulsive and contributed to severe mental health harm, including self-harm that began when she was 10 years old. Her therapist also testified, providing clinical context about the plaintiff's disclosures during therapy sessions regarding her social media use, mental health struggles, and home life. The testimony put a human face on the thousands of similar claims pending in state and federal courts.
Mark Zuckerberg Testifies in Los Angeles Trial
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stand in Los Angeles Superior Court—his first testimony before a jury in a civil trial. Under questioning, Zuckerberg defended Instagram's policies prohibiting users under 13 while acknowledging enforcement challenges. Plaintiff's attorney Mark Lanier presented internal Meta documents showing that in 2018, Instagram estimated 4 million users were under 13 (roughly 30% of all 10-12 year olds in the U.S.). Other documents contradicted Zuckerberg's claim that Meta doesn't set time-spent goals, revealing benchmarks scaling from 40 to 46 minutes per day between 2023 and 2026. Judge Kuhl warned the courtroom against using Meta's AI glasses to record or apply facial recognition to jurors.
California JCCP Trial Begins in Los Angeles
The first individual plaintiff trial in the California Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding (JCCP) commenced in Los Angeles Superior Court before Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl. Plaintiff K.G.M., a 20-year-old woman from Chico, California, alleges that Instagram and YouTube deliberately designed addictive features that harmed her mental health starting when she joined Instagram at age 9. TikTok and Snap settled with the plaintiff days before trial. This trial runs parallel to the federal MDL bellwether trial in Oakland and could establish key precedents on design defect liability outside Section 230's reach.
TikTok Settles with Plaintiff K.G.M. Before Trial
ByteDance (TikTok's parent company) reached a confidential settlement with plaintiff K.G.M. during jury selection for the California JCCP bellwether trial. The settlement came one week after Snap settled with the same plaintiff. K.G.M.'s case, originally filed against Meta, Google, Snap, and TikTok, proceeded to trial against the remaining two defendants. The back-to-back settlements signal defendants' recognition of trial risk and the strength of plaintiffs' evidence in individual cases.
First Bellwether Trial Begins
Harford County Public Schools v. Meta et al. begins trial in Oakland, CA. First jury to hear evidence about social media design and youth mental health. Trial ongoing with 6-8 week expected duration. Verdict will influence thousands of pending cases.
Hawaii Sues TikTok Over Youth Addiction
The State of Hawaii filed a lawsuit against TikTok alleging the platform is designed to be addictive to children and lacks adequate age verification to prevent underage users from viewing harmful content. Hawaii joins over a dozen other states pursuing similar claims against social media companies.
9th Circuit Panel Skeptical of Section 230 Defense
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on Meta and other defendants' attempt to invoke Section 230 immunity in the social media addiction MDL. The judges appeared skeptical that Section 230 shields platforms from liability for design defects—as opposed to third-party content. The appellate hearing follows district court rulings allowing product liability claims based on addictive design features to proceed. A ruling in plaintiffs' favor would affirm that claims targeting platform architecture fall outside Section 230's scope and could clear the path for thousands of pending cases to advance toward trial.
Snap Settles Select Cases
Snap Inc. becomes first major defendant to settle, resolving an undisclosed number of cases including at least one bellwether. Terms confidential but signals significant litigation risk.
Judge Kuhl Denies Summary Judgment, Clears Path for Jury Trials
Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl of Los Angeles Superior Court denied motions for summary judgment filed by Meta, Snap, Google, and ByteDance in three JCCP bellwether cases (Moore, K.G.M., and R.K.C.). The court rejected broad Section 230 immunity and First Amendment arguments, finding that plaintiffs presented sufficient evidence that platform design features — infinite scroll, autoplay, notifications, and reward systems — may have been a substantial factor in causing mental health harms including addiction, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. The ruling holds that critical questions about causation and liability are factual disputes for a jury to decide, marking the first time a U.S. court has cleared design-based product liability claims against social media platforms for trial.
Judge Rules Zuckerberg Not Personally Liable in MDL
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is not personally liable in the social media addiction lawsuits, stating that "control of corporate activity alone is insufficient to establish personal liability." The ruling dismisses claims against Zuckerberg in his individual capacity but does not affect the ongoing litigation against Meta Platforms as a corporate defendant. Plaintiffs had sought to hold Zuckerberg personally accountable based on his role in directing company policy and product decisions, but the court found insufficient evidence to pierce the corporate veil.
School Districts Can Proceed
Judge Rogers rules that school districts have standing to sue under public nuisance theory and can recover costs for mental health interventions, counseling, and crisis response.
School District Bellwether Cases Selected
Court selects six bellwether cases from school districts in Maryland (Harford County), Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Arizona. These test trials will determine the trajectory of the entire MDL.
Meta Motion to Dismiss Denied
Judge Rogers largely denies Meta's motion to dismiss claims brought by 30+ U.S. states, allowing state attorneys general claims to proceed alongside private litigation.
Internal Documents Ordered Produced
Court orders defendants to produce internal research, A/B testing results, and communications about minor safety. Expected to reveal extent of corporate knowledge about harms.
Motion to Dismiss Denied - Section 230 Ruling
In a landmark 65-page ruling, Judge Rogers holds that Section 230 does not protect defendants from product liability claims based on design features. Meta and other defendants must face negligence claims.
California State Court Section 230 Ruling
Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl rules that plaintiffs' claims in the California JCCP can proceed despite Section 230 protections and First Amendment challenges, allowing 800+ state court cases to advance.
Amended Master Complaint Filed
Plaintiffs file the 300+ page Amended Master Complaint detailing product liability theories and citing internal company documents showing defendants knew their products harmed minors.
California JCCP Consolidation
Over 800 social media cases consolidated in Los Angeles Superior Court under California's Judicial Council Coordination Proceedings (JCCP), assigned to Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl.
MDL Consolidation Ordered
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidates nearly 600 initial federal cases into MDL No. 3047 in the Northern District of California, assigned to Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.