Meta Knew What
Instagram Was Doing
to Your Daughter.
Internal Meta research found that Instagram made body image issues worse in one in three teen girls, that 13.5 percent traced suicidal thoughts to the platform, and that 17 percent reported worsening eating disorders. Meta's executives saw those numbers — and kept them from the public. Social media addiction lawsuits against Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube are consolidated in MDL 3047 in federal court. Attorneys reviewing claims nationwide at no cost.
Litigation Status
Internal Research Buried.
Federal MDL Active.
Meta had the research. TikTok had the engagement data. Snapchat had the mental health reports. All four platforms chose algorithmic addiction optimization over child safety — and all four now face a unified federal MDL building toward trial, a historic 42-state attorney general coalition, and thousands of individual plaintiff claims.
Social media addiction lawsuits are consolidated in MDL 3047 — In re: Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation — in the Northern District of California before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. A federal judge denied the platforms' motion to dismiss in October 2023, allowing individual injury claims to proceed. Bellwether trial selection is underway. New claims are actively being filed into the MDL.
Forty-two state attorneys general joined a coordinated lawsuit against Meta in 2023, alleging Instagram and Facebook knowingly designed addictive features targeting children, deployed algorithms that amplified harmful content to vulnerable users, and misrepresented the platforms as safe for minors. The state actions run alongside the federal MDL and independently establish the record of corporate knowledge and deception.
Attorneys in this network handle social media addiction lawsuits on pure contingency. No retainer. No hourly billing. No upfront fees. If no compensation is recovered on your behalf, you owe nothing — period.
"We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls." — Internal Meta research, 2019, disclosed in litigation
Platforms & Legal Theories
What Social Media Addiction
Lawsuits Are Built On
Social media addiction lawsuits proceed on product liability, negligent design, and failure-to-warn theories — the same legal framework that drove tobacco and opioid litigation. The evidence base is exceptionally strong: Meta, TikTok, and Snap all had internal research documenting the harm to minors and chose engagement metrics over child safety. A connected attorney will assess which platform and injury apply to your family's situation at no cost.
Instagram Addiction Lawsuit — Depression, Eating Disorders & Teen Mental Health Claims Against Meta
Meta's own research — disclosed through litigation and investigative journalism — documented that Instagram made depression worse, worsened eating disorders, and amplified suicidal ideation in a significant percentage of teenage girls. Instagram's algorithm was specifically tuned to amplify appearance-focused and social comparison content to users it identified as emotionally vulnerable. Teen girls who developed clinical depression, eating disorders, or self-harm behaviors following sustained Instagram use — particularly those whose physicians or therapists connect the platform's effect to their diagnosis — have viable claims against Meta for the harm its research showed and its executives concealed.
TikTok Addiction Lawsuit — Algorithm-Driven Compulsive Use & Mental Health Harm
TikTok's recommendation algorithm — engineered by ByteDance — is documented as among the most powerful addiction-driving systems ever deployed at consumer scale. It delivers an unending stream of personalized video content calibrated to keep individual users engaged for as long as possible, with particular effectiveness in adolescents whose developing prefrontal cortices are most susceptible to variable reward mechanisms. TikTok specifically marketed itself to children under 13 while collecting data on those users in violation of COPPA, and its algorithm has been documented to actively recommend mental health crisis content — including self-harm and eating disorder content — to users who engaged with related topics.
Snapchat Addiction Lawsuit — Streaks, Disappearing Content & Teen Anxiety Claims
Snapchat's core design features — particularly its "streaks" mechanism, which creates social pressure to maintain daily contact under penalty of losing a visual counter — were specifically engineered to drive compulsive daily use in teenagers. Internal Snap research documented high levels of anxiety associated with streak maintenance, particularly in younger female users. Lawsuits against Snap allege its platform deployed these features deliberately with knowledge of their psychological effect on adolescents and without adequate warning to parents, while simultaneously collecting data on minors without appropriate consent.
YouTube Addiction Lawsuit — Autoplay, Rabbit Holes & Minor Targeting Claims Against Google
YouTube's autoplay feature, which immediately loads the next recommended video without requiring user action, and its personalized recommendation algorithm, which continuously optimizes for engagement, have both been documented as compulsive use drivers — particularly in younger users. YouTube Kids, the company's children's platform, has faced regulatory action for collecting data on children under 13 and for recommending increasingly extreme content through its algorithmic suggestion system. Google faces claims for deploying a platform specifically marketed to children with design features known to maximize compulsive use at the expense of their wellbeing.
Social Media Wrongful Death & Suicide Lawsuit — Highest-Value MDL 3047 Claims
Wrongful death and suicide claims involving minors whose deaths followed documented intensive social media use and platform-driven mental health deterioration are among the highest-value and most actively filed claims in MDL 3047. These cases require documentation of the minor's social media use history, the specific platform features that drove harmful engagement, and clinical or forensic evidence connecting the platform's effect to the loss. Families who lost a child to suicide following social media-driven depression or mental health crisis have the strongest individual standing in the MDL.
COPPA Violations & Minor Data Collection — Predatory Platform Design Claims
All four major social media platforms have faced regulatory action and litigation for collecting personal data on users under 13 without verifiable parental consent in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Meta agreed to pay $1.4 billion to Texas in 2024 to resolve biometric data collection claims. TikTok paid $5.7 million to the FTC in 2019. These platforms knowingly allowed underage users on systems designed for adults, collected behavioral data on those users to optimize addictive engagement targeting them, and never disclosed these practices to parents — a pattern that provides parallel COPPA-based liability alongside product liability claims in MDL 3047.
Eligibility
Signs Your Situation
May Support a Claim
The core question is whether a child or teenager developed a clinically documented mental health condition — depression, eating disorder, anxiety disorder, self-harm, or suicidal ideation — that a physician or therapist connects to intensive social media use on one of the defendant platforms. A connected attorney makes the final determination at no cost.
Your child or teenager was diagnosed with depression, an eating disorder, or anxiety disorder following intensive Instagram, TikTok, or Snapchat use
A clinical diagnosis of major depressive disorder, an eating disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or related condition arising during or following sustained social media use — particularly where a treating physician or therapist identifies the platform's role — provides the medical foundation for a social media addiction claim. These diagnoses are directly addressed in Meta's own internal research and in the MDL 3047 complaint.
Your child required psychiatric hospitalization, inpatient eating disorder treatment, or mental health crisis intervention connected to social media use
Inpatient psychiatric hospitalization, residential eating disorder treatment, or crisis intervention following social media-driven mental health deterioration represents documented harm with a clear financial and human cost. These records — combined with the platform's use history and a treating provider's clinical assessment — form the evidentiary core of a social media addiction claim in MDL 3047.
Your daughter developed body image problems, disordered eating, or an eating disorder after sustained Instagram use
Body image harm and eating disorder development in teenage girls following sustained Instagram use sits at the direct intersection of Meta's documented internal research findings and the MDL 3047 claims. Meta's own 2019 research found Instagram worsened body image issues in one in three teen girls and worsened eating disorders in 17 percent. If your daughter's eating disorder emerged or worsened during a period of intensive Instagram use, a connected attorney can evaluate the connection at no cost.
Your child self-harmed, attempted suicide, or died by suicide during or following a period of intensive social media use
Wrongful death and self-harm claims represent the highest-value cases in MDL 3047. If your child self-harmed or made a suicide attempt that a physician, therapist, or forensic expert connects to social media-driven mental health deterioration, or if your family lost a child to suicide following documented intensive social media use, a connected attorney can evaluate a wrongful death or serious personal injury claim at no cost.
Your child was under 13 and used Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, or YouTube — platforms that collected their data without your consent
All four MDL 3047 defendants have faced regulatory action for collecting data on children under 13 without verifiable parental consent in violation of COPPA. If your child used these platforms under the age of 13, their data was collected and their experience was algorithmically optimized for engagement without the parental consent the law required. COPPA-based claims may run alongside product liability claims in your family's case.
The mental health harm occurred within the applicable statute of limitations window
Statutes of limitation for social media addiction lawsuits vary by state — typically two to three years from the date of harm or from when a physician or therapist connected the condition to the platform. For claims involving minors, tolling rules in some states extend the window. A connected attorney can confirm the exact deadline in your state at no cost.
How It Works
No Upfront Costs.
MDL Filed for You.
Attorneys in this network manage the complete social media addiction lawsuit process — from free evaluation through MDL 3047 filing and beyond. Your role is sharing your family's experience. They handle everything else.
Free Confidential Evaluation
A connected attorney reviews the platforms used, the mental health harm your child experienced, and the clinical documentation available. You'll quickly learn whether your situation supports a viable MDL 3047 claim — no cost, no obligation.
Medical & Platform Records
Social media account records, platform usage data, medical and psychiatric records, clinical diagnoses, treatment documentation, and therapist notes are gathered to establish both the platform's culpable algorithm and the full clinical picture of your child's harm.
Filing Into MDL 3047
Your social media addiction lawsuit is filed against Meta, TikTok, Snap, Google, or the applicable defendant and coordinated through MDL 3047 in the Northern District of California. Bellwether trial outcomes and coordinated discovery benefit all plaintiffs in the MDL.
Settlement or Resolution
Attorneys in this network collect a contingency fee only from your recovery. There is nothing to pay at any point — no retainer, no hourly billing, no upfront fees of any kind.
From Those Who Filed
Their Words
"My daughter was hospitalized for an eating disorder at 15. Her treatment team said it was textbook Instagram body dysmorphia — and then the Wall Street Journal broke the story about what Meta's own researchers had found. That's when I called an attorney."
"My son spent three to four hours a day on TikTok from age 12. His therapist documented that the platform's self-harm content recommendations directly preceded two of his hospitalization events. TikTok knew its algorithm did this. We knew nothing."
"My daughter was 13 when she started using Snapchat — under the minimum age. She became obsessed with maintaining streaks and developed severe anxiety when she couldn't access her phone. Her psychiatrist had never seen anything like it. The MDL told me I wasn't alone."
Common Questions
What You Need to Know
Yes. Social media addiction lawsuits are consolidated in MDL 3047 in the Northern District of California. A federal judge denied the platforms' motion to dismiss in October 2023, allowing individual injury claims to proceed. Defendants include Meta, TikTok and ByteDance, Snapchat, and YouTube and Google. 42 state attorneys general have also filed independent suits against Meta. Submit your information for a free evaluation to find out if your family's situation qualifies.
Internal Meta research disclosed in litigation found that Instagram made body image issues worse in one in three teen girls; that 13.5 percent of teen girls traced suicidal thoughts to Instagram; that 17 percent reported worsening eating disorders; and that Meta's researchers specifically warned executives these harms were causally connected to Instagram's features. Meta had this research, presented it internally, and did not disclose it to the public or to parents. This documentation is central to MDL 3047. A connected attorney can assess how this research applies to your claim.
Social media addiction lawsuits proceed on product liability, negligent design, and failure-to-warn theories. You need to show the platform was defectively designed to cause addiction and mental health harm, the company knew about the risk and failed to disclose it, and a specific documented harm resulted. A clinical diagnosis of depression, an eating disorder, documented self-harm, or psychiatric hospitalization that a physician connects to social media use significantly strengthens your claim. A connected attorney can evaluate your family's situation at no cost.
Potentially yes. Social media addiction lawsuits involving suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, psychiatric hospitalization, or wrongful death following intensive social media use are among the highest-value and most actively filed claims in MDL 3047. These cases require documentation of the use history and clinical evidence connecting the platform to the mental health crisis. A connected attorney can evaluate whether your family's claim qualifies at no cost.
Social media addiction lawsuit values are still being established as MDL 3047 moves toward bellwether trials. Cases with documented clinical diagnoses, hospitalization, eating disorder treatment, or wrongful death carry the highest potential. Because the litigation is pre-resolution, global settlement benchmarks have not been set. A connected attorney can assess your family's claim's value during a free, confidential review.
The primary MDL 3047 defendants are Meta (Instagram and Facebook), TikTok and ByteDance, Snap (Snapchat), and Google and YouTube. Each platform faces allegations of deliberately deploying addictive design features targeting children without adequate warning to parents or users. A connected attorney can assess which platform applies to your family's situation.
Yes. Statutes of limitation vary by state — typically two to three years from the date of documented harm. For claims involving minors, tolling rules in some states extend the window. With MDL 3047 advancing toward bellwether trials, filing now is strongly advisable. Contact a connected attorney today to confirm the deadline in your state.
They Had the Research.
They Chose Engagement Over Your Child.
The evaluation is free. The consultation is confidential. There is no obligation until you choose to move forward.