Lawsuit Updates & History
Stay up to date on the latest information on the current social media addiction lawsuits being filed.
THIS IS AN ACTIVE LAWSUIT
Written and edited by our team of expert legal content writers and reviewed and approved by Attorney Matthew Bergman
- Content last updated on:
- November 21, 2024
Written and edited by our team of expert legal content writers and reviewed and approved by
Attorney Matthew Bergman
- Content last updated on:
- November 21, 2024
October 2024:
A Judge Ruled Meta Must Face Social Media Addiction Lawsuits
On October 15th, a California federal judge ruled that Meta must continue to face social media addiction lawsuits from over 30 U.S. states claiming its platforms harm children and teenagers through addictive algorithms. While Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shields Meta from some claims, the judge allowed most claims to proceed, enabling the states to collect more evidence. The lawsuits accuse Meta of fueling anxiety, depression, and body image issues in youth, and of failing to warn about the risks of using its platforms, seeking accountability and financial compensation.
Over a Dozen States Sue TikTok for Its Addictive Design Features that Hook Children and Teens
The Attorneys General of 13 states and the District of Columbia filed suit against TikTok on October 8, asserting that the app’s addictive design features are doing damage to the mental health of children and teens. The goal of the suits, the Attorneys General say, is to stop TikTok from using addictive features, impose financial penalties, and collect damages for users who say the app has harmed them.
TikTok’s algorithm is at the core of each suit, and the suits claim that it and other design features like endless scrolling addict and harm children. According to AP News, the lawsuit from the D.C. Attorney General called TikTok’s algorithm “dopamine-inducing” and intentionally addictive, allegedly trapping young users into excessive use. D.C.’s suit also claimed that TikTok continues to push these features despite knowing that they will lead to psychological and physiological harm for users.
YouTube, Google Accused of Intentionally Targeting Children with Addictive and Harmful Content
On September 30, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed a consumer protection lawsuit against Google and YouTube, accusing them of intentionally targeting children with addictive and harmful content. Griffin said that children’s developing brains make them particularly vulnerable to the addictive stimuli on social media platforms, especially through programs like YouTube Kids that specifically target youth.
In the complaint, Griffin alleges that Google, YouTube, and their parent companies violated the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by misleading young users and their parents into believing that the platforms are safe for children. Additionally, Griffin tacked on claims of unjust enrichment for monetizing users’ screen time and public nuisance for “creating a mental health crisis.”
Earlier in September, Griffin was one of 42 state Attorneys General who signed a letter asking federal lawmakers to require a Surgeon General warning about addiction risk on all algorithm-driven social media platforms. Griffin previously filed suit against TikTok and its parent company in early 2023, accusing the platform of targeting minors with harmful content. The TikTok suit is set for trial in September 2025.
September 2024: In a joint status report filed at the end of August, the plaintiffs and defendants in several bellwether cases reported that they are completing full file system imaging of all the plaintiffs’ main mobile devices. The court ordered the plaintiffs to produce information from at least 31 main devices by the end of August. They are working with a forensics vendor to compile app usage data for each device.
The parties struggled to agree on how to exchange the cell phone data, especially considering that several plaintiffs have lost, disposed of, or reset their main devices since filing their complaints. Additionally, the parties continue to debate how to address CSAM produced in forensic imaging. Both parties were to provide another status report on September 6.
August 2024: On August 5th, a minor from New York filed a $5 billion Instagram addiction lawsuit against Meta claiming that the company knowingly designed the platform to be addictive to teens. The 13 year old girl in the lawsuit suffered from depression and anxiety.
July 2024: As of July 3, 2024, 499 social media addiction lawsuits were pending in MDL no.3047 against social media platforms Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat. The first bellwether trial for these addiction lawsuits is slated for October 25, 2025.
June 2024: The surgeon general now requires social media companies to have warning labels similar to those on cigarettes. This would caution teens about the addictive nature of the platforms and the potential mental health effects that are associated with using the platforms. Also, New York’s governor, Kathy Hochyl, signed a new social media bill to help combat addictive feeds and protect kids.
June 1: As of the end of May, 475 cases were pending in the social media addiction class action MDL.
May 28th 2024: Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ordered Meta, Snap, TikTok, and YouTube to produce fact sheets and account data showing the bellwether plaintiffs’ usage of the platforms.
May 1, 2024: There were 16 new social media addiction cases added to the MDL in April, with a total of 455 social media addiction lawsuits filed.
April 18, 2024: Judge Kuhl, leading the California coordinated proceedings, has instructed the parties to gather and talk about different types of randomly picked cases, making a sample group for personal injury cases. They plan to choose these cases on June 17th this year and finish collecting evidence for them by December.
January 2, 2024: There are 482 actions filed against social media companies, with 393 cases pending.
December 15, 2023: Fourteen new youth social media addiction lawsuit cases have been transferred to the MDL since November, with 436 cases pending.
November 16, 2023: To date, 455 actions against social media companies have been transferred to the MDL, and 448 are still pending.
November 14, 2023: Judge Rogers denies the defendants’ joint motion to dismiss the lawsuits in the MDL, ruling that Section 230 does not give social media companies blanket immunity.
October 24, 2023: A coalition of 33 state attorneys general file a joint social media addiction lawsuit against Meta. Nine others have filed separate actions.
October 16, 2023: A total of 434 cases against social media companies have been filed and transferred to the MDL, and 429 cases are pending.
July 24, 2023: To date, nearly 200 school districts have joined the tide of claims against social media companies, according to the Wall Street Journal.
July 17, 2023: The number of cases transferred to the MDL has risen to 348, and 344 remain pending.
May 15, 2023: One hundred more cases have been transferred to the MDL since March, bringing the total to 235.
April 14, 2023: Defendants in the social media MDL file a joint motion to dismiss, asserting that product liability laws don’t apply to social media platforms because they are intangible products.
February 16, 2023: The number of cases transferred to MDL 3047 rise to 135.
November 15, 2022: One hundred twenty social media cases are pending in the MDL.
October 14, 2022: The number of cases transferred to MDL 3047 has grown to 39.
October 6, 2022: The Panel on Multidistrict Litigation grants plaintiffs’ motion to transfer social media lawsuits to multidistrict litigation. The cases are assigned to the Honorable Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the Northern District of California as MDL 3047. The court received notice that 56 new cases had been filed in 24 districts.
August 2, 2022: A plaintiff in a lawsuit against Meta files a motion to transfer 28 pending social media lawsuits to multidistrict litigation with hundreds more expected.
Background on the Lawsuits
In October of 2021, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen courageously blew the whistle after secretly copying thousands of pages of internal Meta documents. These documents revealed that Facebook executives knew its product harmed children but chose not to fix it.
Thousands of parents have struggled to stop mental health decline in their children to no avail because they didn’t know what was wrong. Many have endured the pain of their children’s suicide with no answers. Children are growing up with lifelong physical damage from eating disorders and addictions. Frances Haugen’s testimony brought to light social media’s role in these devastating circumstances.
Meta learned about the harm of social media from its own research. However, company executives continued to increase the addictive qualities of their platforms to maximize profits, leading parents and lawyers to sue Facebook and Instagram.
The November 2023 testimony of a second whistleblower, former engineering director Arturo Bejar, corroborated Frances Haugen’s testimony. Mr. Bejar also publicized internal Facebook documents that showed a pattern of turning a blind eye to harmful content, even after Marc Zuckerberg, Adam Mosseri, and other upper-level executives were personally informed about specific harms.
Problematic Social Media Use Causes Real Harm
Today’s youth are experiencing mental health challenges at a level never seen before. According to the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, ten years of data “make it clear that young people in the U.S. are collectively experiencing a level of distress that calls on us to act.”
Clinical studies have proven that social media platforms manipulate the brain’s reward system by encouraging a dopamine release through various interactions such as likes, shares, and comments. Adolescents are especially susceptible because their developing brains place a high value on social rewards. This leads to compulsive use.
Adolescents are uniquely vulnerable to mental health effects from social media use because they are more peer-dependent than adults and less averse to risk-taking. Plaintiffs in the litigation allege that the companies target children and exploit their vulnerabilities for financial gain.
