Social media on trial: tech giants face lawsuits over addiction, safety, and mental health – The Verge

One of Meta’s big legal reckonings just ended in a settlement

2026-05-22T07:47:06-04:00

After back-to-back losses in trials grappling with its impact on teens' mental health, Meta just settled what was supposed to be its next legal battle with Kentucky's Breathitt County School District. Google's YouTube, Snap, and TikTok all recently settled similar claims brought by the school district, which was seeking payment from the companies to cover the cost of combatting social media-related mental health harms.

The trial had been set to begin in June as the first bellwether trial of the federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) cases, which include claims from school districts, state attorneys general, and individuals against the soci …

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Snap, YouTube, and TikTok settle suit over harm to students

2026-05-18T05:46:17-04:00

Schools say social media is hurting grades and creating a mental health crisis. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge

Snap, YouTube, and TikTok have settled the first lawsuit of its kind, alleging that social media addiction has cost public schools massive amounts of money, according to Bloomberg. The suit, filed by the Breathitt County School District in Kentucky, claims that social media has disrupted learning and created a mental health crisis, straining budgets. The terms of the settlement have not been revealed yet, and Meta is still facing a trial in the same suit, which is viewed as a bellwether for over 1,000 similar lawsuits across the country

This follows an earlier case, settled by Snap and TikTok, in which a 19-year-old plaintiff claimed signif …

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New Mexico has a plan to overhaul Facebook and Instagram

2026-05-06T11:18:24-04:00

Still fresh off its recent $375 million jury verdict against Meta, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez's office began arguing for even greater asks in the second phase of a landmark trial. On Monday, an attorney for the state, David Ackerman, pressed the court for a $3.7 billion abatement plan that would require Meta to fund programs for mental health providers, law enforcement, and educators. Other requests include changes to Meta's services - like age verification, a 99 percent detection rate for new child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and no more late-night or school-day notifications for teens in the state.

During opening statement …

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Meta’s historic loss in court could cost a lot more than $375 million

2026-05-04T05:27:04-04:00

Mark Zuckerberg. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez won a historic sum of $375 million in a landmark child safety case against Meta earlier this year. But the next stage of the fight could be even more consequential for Meta and the social media industry at large.

Beginning Monday, attorneys for Meta and New Mexico will return to a Santa Fe courthouse for a three-week public nuisance trial, where they'll argue over the changes the AG wants the judge to order Meta make to Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Those changes include adding age verification for New Mexico users, prohibiting end-to-end encryption for users under 18 and capping their use to 90 …

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Meta threatens to pull its apps from New Mexico if forced to make ‘technologically impractical’ changes

2026-04-30T15:05:01-04:00

Mark Zuckerberg. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

Meta says it may be forced to pull Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp from New Mexico if the attorney general gets his way. The state is demanding a host of changes that the company says are impossible to achieve.

After winning a $375 million jury award against Meta in a trial that argued the company misled users in the state about the safety of its products, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez is asking the state court to order sweeping changes to the platforms. Among the asks are a prohibition on end-to-end encryption for minors, implementing age verification, and detecting 99 percent of new child sexual abuse material uploaded to its …

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Meta and YouTube found negligent in landmark social media addiction case

2026-03-25T16:26:38-04:00

The jury in a landmark trial testing claims about social media addiction against Meta's Instagram and Google's YouTube determined that the two companies failed to warn users about the risks of using their products. The jury found the companies' negligence was a substantial factor in harms like the mental health issues sustained by a now 20-year-old woman Kaley G.M., who used Instagram and YouTube.

The jury ordered both companies to pay a total of $3 million in compensatory damages, with Meta responsible for 70 percent of that balance, according to jurors' responses shared by a firm representing plaintiffs including Kaley. Jurors found that …

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Meta misled users about its products’ safety, jury decides

2026-03-24T17:54:29-04:00

Meta willfully violated New Mexico law by misleading users about the safety of its products and engaging in an unconscionable trade practice, a jury found. The company will face a $375 million penalty for the violations, awarding the maximum penalty of $5,000 per violation for 37,500 violations across two counts. The jury decided against Meta on every count, though it declined to award a penalty as high as the state sought, which would have been closer to $2 billion.

It's a landmark verdict delivered just one day after closing arguments. New Mexico argued that Meta had flouted state law by misleading consumers and facilitating child predato …

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Meta’s reckoning over kids safety is in the hands of two juries

2026-03-24T10:56:31-04:00

Mark Zuckerberg. | Image: The Verge | Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images

Two juries are currently deliberating a series of cases that could either usher in a legal reckoning for Meta, or maintain the status quo in an uphill battle to impose changes or penalties on tech platforms in court.

Yesterday, a New Mexico jury heard closing arguments in a trial where Meta is accused of facilitating child predators on its platforms - allegations the company vehemently denies. And as soon as today, a Los Angeles jury is tentatively expected to reach a verdict in a separate case, which concerns whether Meta and Google should be held liable for making defective products that addicted a young woman. Verdicts against the compa …

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Smart glasses in court are a privacy nightmare

2026-02-20T12:11:33-05:00

When Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrived at a Los Angeles courthouse on Wednesday, he did so with a team that appeared to be wearing Meta's camera-equipped Ray-Ban smart glasses. Judge Carolyn Kuhl was concerned. According to CNBC, Kuhl warned anyone recording with the glasses, "If you have done that, you must delete that, or you will be held in contempt of the court." Kuhl also ordered everyone wearing AI smart glasses to remove them. Even after the warning, at least one person was seen wearing the glasses around jurors in a courthouse hallway, although plaintiff attorney Rachel Lanier was told the glasses weren't recording at the time.

Glas …

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The executive that helped build Meta’s ad machine is trying to expose it

2026-02-20T06:11:33-05:00

Brian Boland spent more than a decade figuring out how to build a system that would make Meta money. On Thursday, he told a California jury it incentivized drawing more and more users, including teens, onto Facebook and Instagram - despite the risks.

Boland's testimony came a day after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stand in a case over whether Meta and YouTube are liable for allegedly harming a young woman's mental health. Zuckerberg framed Meta's mission as balancing safety with free expression, not revenue. Boland's role was to counter this by explaining how Meta makes money, and how that shaped its platforms' design. Boland testified …

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