The social media addiction lawsuits against Meta, YouTube and TikTok

The first trial opened in Los Angeles in January 2026, the first time the companies had to defend the claims before a jury.^[2] TikTok settled with the plaintiff, a 19-year-old, on the eve of trial.^[17] Mark Zuckerberg testified,^[18] and in March the jury found Meta and YouTube liable for negligence and for failing to warn users of risks.^[3] A day earlier a New Mexico jury had found that Meta violated state law by misleading users about safety and enabling child sexual exploitation,^[4] and in August a judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million.^[5] Meta is appealing the Los Angeles verdict,^[8] and plaintiffs in two later test cases dropped their claims before trial.^[19][20]

In August an appeals court allowed thousands of the lawsuits to proceed,^[1] and a trial began in Oakland, California, where Instagram's head, Adam Mosseri, defended the platform's safety record.^[21][22] Days later Meta reached its settlement with the states, which included new protections for users under 18.^[6][23] YouTube's chief executive said the company would not join it.^[24] Alabama settled with TikTok for new safety features days before a trial,^[25] while Pennsylvania and other states pressed new suits against TikTok.^[9][26] More cases settled before reaching juries: Meta settled with a teen plaintiff at the end of October,^[27] and Snap settled in November, ending a bellwether trial.^[28]