Insights, news, research and publications from our global team of experts.
Explore the big challenges, opportunities, debates and frameworks for business and human rights. This section contains a selection of key portals curated by our global team.
Opinion pieces, interviews and blogs from across the business and human rights movement.
24 Mar 2026
10 Mar 2026
Find out more about our impact, who we are and how we are funded.
Show all languages
Show all languages
Insights, news, research and publications from our global team of experts.
Explore the big challenges, opportunities, debates and frameworks for business and human rights. This section contains a selection of key portals curated by our global team.
Opinion pieces, interviews and blogs from across the business and human rights movement.
24 Mar 2026
10 Mar 2026
Find out more about our impact, who we are and how we are funded.
25 Mar 2026
Share
Shutterstock (licensed)
Thousands of lawsuits brought in California state courts by teenagers, their families and school districts allege that social media platforms operated by Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Google (Youtube), TikTok and Snap cause mental health harms to children and teens.
The cases are being coordinated in a Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding before the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
In January 2026, trial began in the first test case, which concerns a woman who alleges that her compulsive use of social media as a child contributed to her mental health issues. Snap and TikTok settled shortly before trial.
On 25 March 2026, the jury found Meta and Google liable and awarded the woman USD6m in damages. The companies have stated that they will appeal the verdict.
Separate proceedings are also ongoing in federal court in California over similar allegations. There is also an ongoing case against Meta in New Mexico state court over allegations that it failed to protect children from sexual exploitation.
A California jury has found that Meta and Google (Alphabet) contributed, through the design of their social media platforms Instagram and YouTube, to the mental health issues of a woman who used social platforms compulsively as a child, and awarded her USD6m in damages. This is the first in a series of bellwether cases, or test cases, tied to thousands of lawsuits filed in California state courts against social media companies Meta, Snap, TikTok and Google over alleged mental health harms to children. Snap and TikTok settled before trial.
The first trial in thousands of cases filed in California state courts against social media companies Meta (Instagram and Facebook), Snap, TikTok and Google (Youtube) over alleged mental health harms to children has begun. The case is the first in a series chosen by the Los Angeles County Superior Court to serve as bellwethers, or test cases that will go to trial first to gauge juries’ reactions and potential verdicts and settlements. Snap and TikTok have settled this test case just before trial but remain defendants in the other suits.
Events | Jobs | Media | Data Usage & Cookies | Contact Us | Join our email lists | Subscribe on LinkedIn
Disclaimer: The Business and Human Rights Centre and its collaborative partners take no position on the diverse views presented in linked material within the database, nor can we guarantee the factual accuracy of all the articles and reports we make available. The appearance of such links does not constitute endorsement of the websites they lead to or the information contained therein, over which we exercise no editorial control.
Business and Human Rights Centre (BHRC) Business and Human Rights Resource Centre is a registered charity in England & Wales no. 1096664, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in USA and registered charitable association (e.V.) in Germany (VR 38088 B).
