Meta and Snap are facing a new US trial over allegations that their social media platforms contributed to compulsive use and serious health problems among teenagers, adding to growing legal pressure on technology companies to make their services safer for young users.
Jury selection is expected to begin on Wednesday in Los Angeles, where the case will examine claims against Meta, the company behind Instagram and Facebook, and Snap, which operates Snapchat. The trial is another major legal challenge for social media companies accused of designing products that encourage excessive use, particularly among children and adolescents.
Thousands of lawsuits have been filed against social media companies in recent years in courts across the United States and Europe. The cases have raised questions about the responsibility of technology firms for the effects of their platforms on young users, including allegations involving harmful content, compulsive use, mental health problems and inadequate child safety measures.
The legal challenges are unfolding alongside wider efforts by governments and regulators to restrict children’s access to social media. Australia has introduced restrictions on social media access for younger users, while European policymakers are considering stronger protections. The European Commission has also proposed an EU Kids Act aimed at shifting more responsibility for children’s online safety from parents to the platforms themselves, including through possible restrictions for users under 15.
Previous court cases have already increased pressure on the industry. In March 2026, a US jury found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a young user identified by the initials KGM and ordered the companies to pay a combined $6 million, equivalent to approximately EUR 5.4 million. Snap and TikTok settled with the plaintiff before the trial.
Other cases have also ended in settlements. Snap, TikTok and YouTube settled a separate lawsuit that had been scheduled for trial in August. The remaining claims against Meta were subsequently withdrawn by the plaintiff, identified as RKC, allowing the company to avoid a trial without reaching a settlement in that case.
The latest Los Angeles proceedings have undergone similar changes. TikTok and YouTube were initially named as defendants, but both reached settlement agreements with the plaintiffs, identified as SJ and KDB, before the trial began, according to their lawyers. Meta also reached an agreement with SJ but did not settle the claims brought by KDB.
A California state judge combined the two cases into one trial. Unless further settlements are reached, Meta and Snap will remain the defendants when opening statements begin on November 4. Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram head Adam Mosseri and Snap chief executive Evan Spiegel are expected to be among the prominent witnesses scheduled to testify from mid-November.
The trial comes amid a series of other legal setbacks and settlements for Meta. Earlier in October, a New Mexico judge ordered the company to pay $25 billion, or about EUR 22.5 billion, in a case concerning allegations that it misled users in the state about how their data was used, linked to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The figure and the legal basis of that ruling are separate from the state’s earlier child-safety case, in which a jury found Meta liable for harms to children and imposed a penalty of $942 million, approximately EUR 846.7 million.
Meta also agreed in August to pay more than $18 billion in penalties and make changes to Instagram and Facebook for teenage users as part of a settlement with 52 attorneys general. The agreement was reached several days into a trial in California. Some provisions depended on YouTube and TikTok making similar changes to their products, including measures to limit daily screen time.
The latest lawsuit centres on allegations that social media platforms use design features that encourage compulsive behaviour and fail to adequately protect young users. Lawyers for SJ and KDB are expected to argue that their clients were exposed to what court documents describe as “addictive and problematic” applications when they began using the services at the ages of 13 and 15.
According to SJ’s lawyers, the Illinois teenager began using Snapchat compulsively and subsequently experienced mental health problems, an eating disorder and self-harm. KDB, who is now 18 and from Mississippi, allegedly developed compulsive use of Meta’s and Snap’s platforms, with a resulting deterioration in her mental and physical health.
These are allegations presented by the plaintiffs, rather than findings established in the current trial. Meta has previously rejected claims of this kind. In a statement to AFP in July, the company said it would continue to defend itself against what it described as baseless lawsuits.
Snap is expected to argue that Snapchat differs from platforms such as Instagram and Facebook because its primary purpose is messaging. A company spokesperson said Snap believed the evidence would show that it had prioritised its community and that the allegations misrepresented both the plaintiffs’ experiences and the way Snapchat was designed.
The dispute in Los Angeles reflects a wider international debate over how social media companies should be held accountable for the effects of their products on children. In Europe, legal action has increasingly focused on platform algorithms, age verification, the recommendation of harmful content and features such as infinite scrolling that can encourage users to remain online for longer.
France has become a prominent centre of litigation against TikTok. In November 2024, seven families filed a joint lawsuit alleging that the platform had exposed teenagers to harmful content. The number of families involved later grew to 16, and the case expanded from civil proceedings to criminal action in May 2026.
The litigation followed an individual criminal complaint filed in 2023 by the mother of a 15-year-old girl named Marie. Lawyers involved in the cases also brought concerns to the European Commission, which has examined TikTok’s compliance with the European Union’s Digital Services Act, the legislation governing online platform responsibilities. The broader regulatory concerns include whether platforms are doing enough to protect children from harmful material and unsafe online experiences.
Italy has also seen legal action against major social media companies. In October 2025, the Italian Parents’ Movement, known as MOIGE, and a group of families launched a collective action seeking stronger age verification for children under 14, greater transparency about how platform algorithms work and restrictions on design features such as infinite scrolling.
The first hearing took place in Milan in May 2026. Meta and TikTok sought to have the case dismissed, arguing that Italian courts lacked jurisdiction over their corporate conduct. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs subsequently submitted further evidence that they said showed the companies understood the risks associated with their algorithms and the potential harm to children.
Italy adopted a new legal framework in September covering civil and corporate criminal liability in areas involving artificial intelligence and predictive profiling. The collective action is scheduled for a final hearing on November 19, when judges are expected to consider the platforms’ practices. If the plaintiffs succeed, the companies could face requirements for certified third-party age verification, changes to features they describe as harmful and health warnings concerning design techniques intended to encourage prolonged engagement.
The European Commission has also intensified its scrutiny of social media platforms under the Digital Services Act. In February 2026, it said TikTok’s design might breach the law, pointing to concerns about compulsive use, screen time and parental controls.
The Commission opened a separate investigation into Snapchat in March, focusing on the platform’s child-safety protections. That investigation remains unresolved in the information available for this report.
Meta has faced additional scrutiny over its approach to younger users. In April and July 2026, the Commission issued findings that the company had breached the Digital Services Act in relation to protections for children under 13 and the design of Instagram and Facebook. The findings raised concerns about children’s access to the services and features including infinite scrolling and autoplay, with the Commission calling for changes to the platforms.
In July, the Commission also raised concerns about TikTok’s public account settings and their implications for children’s privacy and safety.
Taken together, the lawsuits and regulatory investigations show that the debate over social media safety is moving beyond parental supervision and individual responsibility. Courts and regulators are increasingly examining whether the companies themselves should be required to change the way their products work, particularly when children are among their users.
The Los Angeles trial will add another test of how far that responsibility extends under US law. Its outcome could influence the arguments in other cases, as plaintiffs seek to establish that platform design, rather than exposure to individual pieces of content alone, can contribute to harm among young users.
