Infinite Scroll on Trial

As of August 2026, over 3,100 federal court cases have been filed against major social media companies in the multidistrict litigation (MDL) alleging the "social media platforms are defective because they are designed to maximize screen time, which can encourage addictive behavior in adolescents... this conduct results in various emotional and physical harms, including death." Federal cases have been brought by at least 29 states and over 1,300 school districts. Some individuals have sued the social media giants in California state court leading to a Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding (JCCP), the California version of the federal court system's MDL. There are approximately 3,300 cases included in JCCP 5255, California's social media lawsuit.

Many experts have referred to these cases as social media’s “Big Tobacco” moment, referring to the 1990s when tobacco companies had to pay billions of dollars for lying to the public about the safety and potential harms of their products. The monetary stakes are now over $1 trillion for these social media giants.

The Argument - Defective Design & Negligence

Social media companies have argued plaintiffs' claims ultimately arise from user content and interactions. This argument attempts to invoke the First Amendment and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act as a defense. According to Section 230, social media companies are not accountable for the content posted by their users. Historically, broad interpretations of Section 230 have protected platforms from liability.

Contrary to previous cases that focused on problematic third-party content on social media platforms, plaintiffs are focusing on platform design, not user content. Plaintiffs allege social media companies knowingly designed platforms to be addictive, especially to teenagers and children. Such problematic design features include infinite scroll and constant notifications. Product liability is distinct from publisher liability. Plaintiffs have asserted that platform algorithm recommendations are the platforms' own speech.

The Children Who Suffer

March 2026

On March 25, a California jury found Meta and YouTube negligent in implementing design features that made their apps addictive and for failure to warn of the dangers of using their platforms. They were ordered to pay $3 million in compensatory damages and an additional $3 million in punitive damages, assigning 70% responsibility to Meta and 30% to YouTube. Plaintiff K.G.M. (20 year old female) alleged Meta and YouTube’s negligence played a “substantial factor” in her continuing mental decline due to near-constant use of the apps and the constant app notifications. This was the first in a planned series of bellwether cases in JCCP 5255. Bellwether trials are test cases: a handful of representative cases go to trial first so both sides can gauge how juries respond before the rest are resolved.

July 2026

On July 22, Plaintiff R.K.C. (15 year old Florida boy) dropped his case against Meta after he settled with YouTube, TikTok, and Snap in June. Meta spokesperson Liza Crenshaw touted this as a win for Meta stating, “The claims never held up, and this outcome makes clear that we will not back away from defending ourselves against baseless lawsuits.” According to his attorneys, R.K.C. wanted to "close this chapter and focus on his recovery" and well-being.

On July 30, the families of four teenagers who died by suicide between July 2024 and September 2025 filed suit against Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube. According to the complaint, after years of using the social platforms, the four children who died had experienced harms including social media addiction, severe sleep deprivation, depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. The complaint also alleges the social media companies knew they were causing harm to young users. According to Matthew Bergman, one of the attorneys for the families, the children at the center of this case died well after similar suits had been filed against the social media companies.

August 2026

TikTok settled with three individual plaintiffs: S.J., a 15 year old from Illinois; P.M.Y., a 15 year old from New Jersey; and K.D.B., an 18 year old from Mississippi. Plaintiffs' alleged addiction, depression, self-harm, and eating disorders related to the platform's design.

October 2026

Plaintiffs S.J., P.M.Y., and K.D.B. still have claims against Meta, Google (YouTube), and Snap. These three cases are the next bellwether cases set for trial. The trials are are scheduled for October.

The States v. Meta

Federal Court

On Tuesday, August 18, 2026, federal trial began in the first of many cases brought by at least 29 states. This first trial includes California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey. They allege Meta designed its platforms to be addictive for children and teenagers and deceived the public by advertising its platforms as safe. The states also allege Meta violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act by tracking children. In her opening statement, California Deputy Attorney General Megan O'Neill stated, "Meta's business model can be summed up in four simple words: 'hook' the users, 'hold' them for as long as they can, 'harvest' their data, and then 'hide' the truth from the public when making public statements." (Emphasis added.)

Overall, 40 states have brought suit against Meta.

Tennessee State Court

The Tennessee state trial against Meta began on Monday, July 27, 2026. Tennessee Attorney General claimed Instagram was intentionally built to be addictive and Meta violated the state's consumer protection laws. Witnesses have included current and former Meta employees and the inventor of the infinite scroll, Aza Raskin. Trial is expected to go through early September.

New Mexico State Court

On August 7, 2026, New Mexico Attorney General announced a New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $567 million for harms to children and teenagers from its platforms. This is in addition to the jury-imposed civil penalty of $375 million during the first phase of the case in March 2026. That's almost $1 billion in total penalties. The New Mexico jury found Meta willfully violated the state’s consumer protection laws by failing to safeguard users from online predators, endangering children, and making misleading statements to the public about the safety of its platforms. These monies are to be used to address youth mental health crises and court-supervised reforms to Facebook and Instagram which are to remain in effect for five years.

The Schools v. Social Media

Over 1,300 school districts nationwide have filed suit against the social media giants. U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers previously selected six school districts to serve as the bellwether cases, including districts from Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, and South Carolina. Breathitt County School District in Kentucky was set to be the first to go to court.

Breathitt County School District

Breathitt County School District's case against Meta, Snap, TikTok, and YouTube was set for a June 2026 trial. It was to be THE bellwether federal case for the over 1,300 school districts nationwide that had filed suit against the social media giants. In May, Breathitt County School District reached settlement with all Defendants for a combined $27 million.

The $27 Million settlement breakdown:
$9 Million - Meta (settled May 21, 2026)
$8 Million - TikTok (settled mid-May 2026)
$8 Million - Snap (settled mid-May 2026)
$2.01 Million - Alphabet (Google/YouTube) (settled mid-May 2026)
-includes special training on Google Classroom products for instructors

The Next School District Cases

Judge Gonzalez Rogers set February 3, 2027, as jury selection and February 8 for opening statements in the next major federal school district cases. The cases for Tucson Unified School District v. Meta, et al. and Charleston County School District v. Meta, et al. were both scheduled for that trial date so if one school district resolves its case prior to that date, the second case may proceed.