Four families have filed a lawsuit against Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube, alleging that the social media platforms' addictive and dangerous nature contributed to the suicides of their teenage children. The suit, filed in Delaware's Superior Court, claims that years of escalating harms from platform use led to the deaths of four adolescents.
The plaintiffs represent families from Texas, North Carolina, Minnesota, and Tennessee whose children died by suicide over a 14-month period between July 2024 and September 2025. The Social Media Victims Law Center is representing the families. Attorney Matthew Bergman stated that the timing of these deaths, occurring long after similar lawsuits were filed, highlights the ongoing danger social media poses to children globally.
According to the complaint, each of the four teens experienced severe harms including social media addiction, significant sleep deprivation, depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation as a result of their prolonged use of these platforms. The teens ranged in age from 13 to 18 at the time of their deaths: Livi Castro, Riv Kelleher, Nathaniel Chambers, and Dawson Holden.
The lawsuit asserts that the social media companies were aware of the detrimental effects their platforms had on young users. A spokesperson for Google, which owns YouTube, said the company prioritizes a safer, healthier experience for young people and has developed services and policies for age-appropriate content and parental controls, adding that they are reviewing the lawsuit's claims.
Representatives for Meta, TikTok, and Snap did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sacha Haworth, executive director of The Tech Oversight Project, criticized the slow pace of federal legislation, noting that despite years of advocacy from parents, activists, and whistleblowers, more children have died while Congress has delayed action. Haworth further alleged that these companies continue to deceive the public about product safety through advertising, paid partnerships, and lobbying.
These tech giants face numerous legal challenges nationwide regarding alleged harms to minors. Meta is currently on trial in Tennessee, with the state's attorney general accusing the company of deliberately designing addictive features, particularly on Instagram, without warning users of the dangers. Meta is also scheduled for a federal trial in Oakland, California, in August, facing accusations from multiple states that its addictive features contribute to the youth mental health crisis and that it violated federal law by collecting data from children under 13 without parental consent.
While not all lawsuits result in favorable judgments, and many are settled out of court, the accumulation of legal cases can be costly. Meta recently reported $2.4 billion in legal expenses for the second quarter, which contributed to a notable profit decline.