Checking Your Connection

Social media's 'Big Tobacco' moment may have finally arrived

Landmark cases challenge long-held legal protections and push companies toward stricter safeguards for younger users.

ALEXANDER: Litigation Against Social Media Companies is Likely Misplaced

A jury in Los Angeles, CA this past week held Meta (Facebook) and YouTube liable for a 20-year-old woman’s personal life difficulties.  The legal theory upon which the jury based its verdict was a novel, likely stretched, use of a product liability law. The $6 million verdict against the two companies is the first of approximately 3,000 lawsuits filed in California […] The post ALEXANDER: Litigation Against Social Media Companies is Likely Mispl…

Social Media Companies Found Negligent

NATIONAL, U.S. (WDEF) – A Los Angeles County jury has found Meta and YouTube negligent in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit claiming that features of their platforms contributed to addiction and mental health harm in a young user. The plaintiff, identified in court by her initials K.G.M., is a 20-year-old woman who testified that her use of Instagram, owned by Meta, and YouTube, owned by Alphabet and Google, led to compulsive engagement and adverse ef…

Checking your connection

Juries in federal and state courts said this week in a pair of bellwether cases that tech companies are liable for public health harms to young users on their platforms. The decisions represent a blow to the broad protections long enjoyed by firms against legal liability for user content posted on social media websites.

Social Media Addiction Lawsuits

Big Social Media In Court In a landmark Los Angeles trial that began on January 27, 2026, a jury reached a historic verdict finding Meta and Google liable for creating addictive platforms, awarding a 20-year-old plaintiff $6 million in total damages. The case is part of a large California state court proceeding that combines more than 1,600 lawsuits filed by families and school districts against Meta (Instagram and Facebook), Snap, TikTok, and Y…