Written by: Liz Hughes
In recent months, social media companies have faced increasing legal pressure over their alleged responsibility for the mental health crisis affecting young users. In May 2026, Snap, YouTube, and TikTok settled a suit in Kentucky in which plaintiffs claimed that social media addiction has disrupted education and caused a massive mental health crisis that schools have to pay for. Meta did not settle and will be going to trial in June in Federal court in Oakland, California. This follows two cases, one in New Mexico and the other in California, where the juries found in favor of plaintiffs who claimed that Meta failed to protect children on its site, and that it was responsible for damages stemming from a young woman’s social media addiction, respectively.
Background
In 2021, a whistleblower from Facebook leaked internal documents revealing that Facebook had conducted internal research that provided detailed information about how the algorithms in its social media platforms were harming the mental health of young people. Among other things, the research showed a link between excessive use of Instagram and increased body dysmorphia, depression, and suicidal ideation.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has declared there is a mental health crisis happening with the youth in the United States. Research shows that severe mental health problems can be triggered by excessive social media consumption, with the effects amplified for children and adolescents. This is being attributed to the companies’ algorithms that are designed to keep people engaged and scrolling endlessly. An individual could start out looking at healthy meals and very quickly end up seeing endless content promoting eating disorders.
As a result, there are now over 3,000 pending lawsuits brought by students, state attorneys, and school districts. Some of these suits allege that the social media companies contributed to a mental health crisis by deliberately designing their platforms to have features shown to be addictive to adolescents.
Recent Decisions
In March 2026, two separate juries, one in New Mexico and another in California, held social media companies accountable for harming the mental health of young people. Meta has stated that it will appeal.
A New Mexico jury found that Meta harmed the mental health and safety of children by concealing “what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its social media platforms,” putting profit over safety, thus violating the state’s Unfair Practices Act. This case “relied on an undercover investigation where agents created social media accounts posing as children to document sexual solicitations and Meta’s response.”
A California jury found Meta and Google negligent for social media harms due to their addictive features. A twenty-year-old woman, who began using social media at six years old, sued Meta and Google claiming that the use of social media led to anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia, and thoughts of self-harm. She claimed that the companies intentionally created the apps to be “as addictive as cigarettes or digital casinos” through their use of features like infinite scrolling, video autoplay, and algorithmic recommendations.
Both the New Mexico and California cases are heralded as bellwether cases that open the door to similar lawsuits against the social media companies. They confirm the legal theory that social media can cause personal injury.
Legal Arguments
The case brought by Breathitt County School District in Kentucky claims the companies were negligent and a public nuisance. In the complaint, they detail the extent of the impact social media has had on the students at school along with the steps they have had to take to mitigate the damage. Students’ levels of anxiety and depression increased, so the school had to increase the number of mental health counselors available to their students and increase teacher training to help identify students who are struggling. The district has had to develop curriculum to educate on the harms of social media, purchase software to filter social media from their networks, and develop ways to handle increased behavioral problems associated with social media addiction.
In the complaint, the district claims that it has documentation showing how each company knowingly and intentionally developed their platforms to entice and addict young people. This includes research discussing child and teenage use of social media platforms, how and why it impacts their mental health, and how that has impacted the school system’s ability to teach their students. It also includes Meta’s internal documentation provided by whistleblowers showing that the company’s own research concluded that its platforms increased mental health problems in young people, and despite this, it continued using these methods to attract teenagers because they were “the pipeline to all other demographics.”
Meta is relying on the First Amendment and Section 230 provision of the U.S. Communications Decency Act which shields it from liability for content posted by users on its social media platforms. The case is moving forward after the judge denied summary judgment.
Looking Forward
Several state legislatures have proposed laws requiring age verification for social media websites or outright banning social media for minors. In the states that have passed these laws, most are currently being litigated for violations of free speech.
The cases in New Mexico and California provide a roadmap for future cases and signify a growing interest in holding social media companies accountable for the child mental health crisis. These cases are distinguished from the legislation preventing young people from accessing social media as their aim is to hold the social media companies accountable for their role in amplifying the mental health crisis by stating that the companies are negligent and a public nuisance.
While social media companies are protected against their users’ speech by Section 230, it will not protect them from an actionable defect of their product, namely their design and algorithms. These cases are being compared to the Big Tobacco cases in the 1990s, where the tobacco companies knew their product was addictive and caused cancer, but kept that information from the public. If these recent cases are an indicator, courts are willing to hold social media companies accountable for their role in the youth mental health crisis.
Sources:
Alexandra S. Levine & Madlin Mekelburg, Snap, YouTube, TikTok Settle School Suit Targeting Social Media, Bloomberg Law (May 15, 2026) https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/snap-youtube-settle-school-social-media-suit-ahead-of-trial.
American Academy of Pediatrics, AAP-AACAP-CHA Declaration of a National Emergency in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Advocacy (10/19/2021) https://www.aap.org/en/advocacy/child-and-adolescent-healthy-mental-development/aap-aacap-cha-declaration-of-a-national-emergency-in-child-and-adolescent-mental-health/.
Complaint, Breathitt County School District v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 23-cv-01804-YGR (E.D.Ky. Mar. 30, 2023) Dkt. No. 1.
Cecilia Kang, Ryan Mac & Eli Tan, Meta and YouTube Found Negligent in Landmark Social Media Addiction Case, New York Times (Mar. 25, 2026) https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/technology/social-media-trial-verdict.html.
CJ Larkin & Max Morgan, The State by State Push to Restrict Youth Access to Social Media, Tech Policy Press (May 13, 2026) https://www.techpolicy.press/the-state-by-state-push-to-restrict-youth-access-to-social-media/.
Diana Novak Jones, What comes next after the social media trial verdicts?, Reuters (Mar. 25, 2026) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/what-comes-next-after-social-media-trial-verdicts-2026-03-25/.
Diana Novak Jones & Nate Raymond, Youtube, Snap and TikTok Settle School District Addiction Claims, Reuters (May 16, 2026) https://www.reuters.com/world/us/youtube-snap-settle-school-districts-social-media-addiction-claims-2026-05-16.
Kat Black, US Judge Denies Big Tech’s Motion for Summary Judgment in Social Media Addiction MDL Case, Paving Way for Trial, Law.com (Feb. 11, 2026) https://www.law.com/therecorder/2026/02/11/us-judge-denies-big-techs-motion-for-summary-judgment-in-social-media-addiction-mdl-case-paving-way-for-trial/.
The Associated Press, New Mexico Jury Says Meta Harms Children’s Mental Health and Safety, Violating State Law, NPR (Mar. 24, 2026) https://www.npr.org/2026/03/24/g-s1-115019/new-mexico-meta-children-mental-health.