Social Media Addiction Lawsuit Lawyer —

Long Island, NY

A California jury has made history. On March 25, 2026, a jury found Meta and YouTube negligent and liable for intentionally engineering their platforms to addict a child — awarding $6 million in combined damages. If your child has suffered anxiety, depression, eating disorders, or other serious harm from social media use, this verdict is a turning point. At MiglioreLaw, we represent Long Island families in social media addiction claims.

Free consultation — no fees unless we recover.

What This Verdict Means for Your Family

The K.G.M. case was the first bellwether trial of its kind — a test case designed to gauge how juries would respond to evidence that social media companies deliberately built addictive features targeting children. The verdict was sweeping: the jury found Meta and YouTube knew their platforms caused harm and did it anyway. The plaintiff had started using Instagram at age 9 and suffered anxiety, body dysmorphia, and depression. Meta and Google have asked the court to set the verdict aside and are expected to appeal, so the result is not final — but it established that these claims can reach a jury and persuade one.

Who Is Filing Social Media Addiction Lawsuits?

Families are filing claims on behalf of children and teenagers who developed serious mental health conditions after prolonged use of Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat. The strongest cases involve children who began using these platforms before age 13, developed diagnoses such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self-harm, or suicidal ideation, and whose use was extensive and documented. Adults who became addicted as minors may also have claims.

What Features Are at Issue?

The lawsuits allege that these platforms were designed — deliberately — to maximize compulsive use. Specific features at issue include infinite scroll (no natural stopping point), algorithmic content recommendations that push increasingly extreme or harmful content, autoplay video, notification systems engineered to pull users back repeatedly, like and follower counts that exploit social validation, and filters and body image content shown to cause eating disorders and body dysmorphia in teenage girls. The K.G.M. jury heard extensive evidence on each of these design choices.

Early Settlements and the First Verdict

Before the K.G.M. trial began, TikTok and Snapchat agreed to settle their cases. Settlement amounts were not publicly disclosed, but the decisions to settle — rather than face a jury — speak for themselves. If your child was harmed by TikTok or Snapchat, claims against those companies may still be available. Contact us to discuss your options.

The Federal MDL: 2,664+ Cases and Growing

In addition to the California state court litigation, a federal Multidistrict Litigation (MDL No. 3047) is underway in the Northern District of California before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. Roughly 2,664 cases were pending there as of June 2026, including cases brought by school districts and individual families. Bellwether trials are being selected and scheduled. New York families can participate in this national litigation while being represented locally.

What Compensation May Be Available?

A successful social media addiction claim can recover medical and therapy expenses, costs of ongoing mental health treatment, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and — as the K.G.M. verdict demonstrated — punitive damages when a company’s conduct was knowing and reckless. Each family’s case is different, and the value depends on the severity of the harm, the platforms used, and the duration of exposure.

The First Federal Trial Ended in a Settlement

Alongside the individual cases, hundreds of school districts and more than 40 state attorneys general have brought their own suits, and the federal docket has grown faster than nearly any other consolidated litigation in the federal courts, per the MDL’s own statistics.

The defendants have started paying to avoid juries. In May 2026, the first federal test case — brought by a small Kentucky school district — settled on the eve of trial, with Snap, TikTok, and YouTube resolving first and Meta following days before jury selection. News coverage of the settlement put its combined value near $27 million — for one small rural school district — and terms were not disclosed. The next test trial, brought by state attorneys general, is expected around August 2026, with two more school-district trials scheduled for early 2027. This litigation is moving quickly; contact us for its current status.

Every case is different. These lawsuits generally allege that addictive platform design contributed to serious mental health injuries by encouraging prolonged, repetitive, and compulsive use. Establishing causation requires reviewing the individual’s history, medical records, social media usage, and other case-specific evidence.

New York Is at the Center of This Litigation

This is not a distant California story. New York City and its public school system are plaintiffs in the school-district track, and the New York Attorney General helped lead the multistate enforcement coalition against Meta. New York has also enacted the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act — signed in 2024, and the first law of its kind in the nation, targeting the very feed-design features at the heart of this litigation. The Attorney General’s implementing rules were proposed in September 2025, and the law takes effect after final rules are published. Our firm represents Long Island and New York families in this national litigation through our co-counsel network; how any individual case proceeds is something we evaluate at intake.

Frequently Asked Questions: Social Media Addiction Claims

Free Consultation for Long Island Families

MiglioreLaw represents families throughout Long Island — Nassau County, Suffolk County, and the five boroughs. There are no upfront costs and no fees unless we recover for you. To speak with a social media addiction attorney, call (631) 543-3663 or use our contact form. We will evaluate your child’s case and explain your options at no charge.