In March 2026, a Los Angeles jury awarded $6 million to a family whose child was harmed by Instagram and YouTube. By June 2026, approximately 2,700 families nationwide had filed similar lawsuits — and Meta, TikTok, Snap, and Google had already begun settling cases.
If your Tennessee teenager or young adult developed depression, anxiety, an eating disorder, body dysmorphia, self-harm, or suicidal thoughts tied to heavy use of Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, or YouTube, you may qualify to file the same kind of claim.
Tennessee has one of the shortest filing deadlines in the country — just one year for most personal injury claims. Do not wait. Call 866-837-1010 today for a free, confidential case review. You pay nothing unless we win.
Quick Eligibility Check
You may qualify if all four of the following apply:
- ✓ The user is 25 or younger today, or was a minor when heavy use began
- ✓ They used Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, or YouTube 3 or more hours per day, starting before age 18
- ✓ They were diagnosed with depression, anxiety, an eating disorder, body dysmorphia, self-harm, or suicidal thoughts
- ✓ They received treatment from a doctor, psychiatrist, therapist, or counselor
All four boxes checked? Call 866-837-1010 — your case may be ready to file.
Not sure about one? Call 866-837-1010 anyway. Our intake team walks through your situation at no cost and no obligation.
Social Media Addiction Lawsuit at a Glance
- Litigation: In re: Social Media Adolescent Addiction / Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation, MDL 3047
- Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- Judge: Hon. Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers
- Defendants: Meta (Instagram, Facebook), ByteDance (TikTok), Snap Inc. (Snapchat), Google (YouTube)
- Cases pending: Approximately 2,700 individual claims as of June 2026
- First bellwether verdict: $6 million for the plaintiff — KGM v. Meta Platforms, Inc. (March 2026)
- Tennessee filing deadline: Just 1 year from injury — one of the shortest in the U.S. Product-liability claims allow up to 6 years. Wrongful death: 1 year from death.
- Attorney fees: 33–40% contingency — you pay nothing unless we win
What Is Tennessee’s Filing Deadline? (One Year — Act Now)
Tennessee has one of the strictest statutes of limitations in the United States. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104, you generally have only one year from the date of injury to file a personal injury claim. For most other states the deadline is two or three years; Tennessee is one year.
For product liability claims — the legal theory used against social media platforms — Tennessee allows up to six years to file under Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-28-103, but with a 10-year statute of repose from the date the product was first sold (or one year from the product’s anticipated useful life, whichever is shorter).
For minors, Tennessee tolls the statute under Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-1-106. The clock does not begin running until the minor turns 18, at which point the minor has one year to file (giving most plaintiffs until their 19th birthday). For products liability claims against the platforms, that extended window may stretch further depending on facts.
For wrongful death (including suicide of a minor) the personal representative has one year from the date of death under Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-5-113.
The bottom line: if your child was harmed, call us immediately. Even waiting a few months can be fatal to a Tennessee claim. Call 866-837-1010 today.
Why Tennessee Families Choose Fob James Law Firm
For more than 40 years, the attorneys at Fob James Law Firm have represented families across the South in mass tort and personal injury matters. We bring that same approach to social media addiction cases:
Tennessee-licensed attorneys. Fob James IV is licensed in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. We file in Tennessee state courts and federal courts directly.
Direct attorney communication. You speak with your lawyer, not a call center representative or a paralegal. We handle every aspect of your case personally.
Lower contingency fees. We charge 33-40% — substantially less than the 45% many national mass tort firms charge.
Selective intake. We intentionally take fewer cases so each family receives meaningful attention.
National mass tort experience. We represent victims in pharmaceutical, medical device, toxic exposure, and product liability cases across all 50 states.
No fee unless we win. Contingency fee basis with no upfront cost.
What Is the Social Media Addiction Lawsuit?
Thousands of families nationwide have sued Meta (Facebook and Instagram), ByteDance (TikTok), Snap Inc. (Snapchat), and Google (YouTube) for designing platforms to be addictive to minors and failing to warn parents about the foreseeable mental-health consequences.
The federal cases are coordinated in In Re: Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation, MDL 3047, before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the Northern District of California. Tennessee plaintiffs file individual federal cases that are transferred into the MDL.
The lawsuits allege the platforms:
- Engineered addictive features (infinite scroll, push notifications, algorithmic feeds, variable-reward design) to maximize adolescent engagement
- Knew internally that heavy use was causing depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and suicide-related harm but withheld that information
- Failed to implement meaningful age verification or default safety settings for minors
- Used recommendation algorithms that amplified eating disorder, self-harm, and other harmful content for vulnerable users
- Targeted children with content the companies’ own research showed was dangerous
The litigation has reached an inflection point. In March 2026, a Los Angeles jury returned a $6 million verdict against Meta and Google in KGM v. Meta Platforms, Inc., the first individual bellwether trial — finding both companies negligent and rejecting their Section 230 defenses. In May 2026, all four platforms collectively settled the Breathitt County (Kentucky) school district federal bellwether before trial.
As of June 2026, approximately 2,700 individual personal injury cases are pending in MDL 3047, alongside more than 800 school district cases and parallel actions filed by 41 state attorneys general.
Who Qualifies for a Tennessee Social Media Addiction Lawsuit?
You may qualify if:
Age: The user is currently 25 or younger, or was a minor (under 18) when heavy use began.
Platform use: Sustained or compulsive use of one or more major platforms — Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, or YouTube — typically three or more hours per day.
Onset before age 18: The pattern of heavy use began before the user turned 18.
Documented injury: A diagnosable mental-health or behavioral injury that emerged or substantially worsened during the period of heavy platform use, such as:
- Major depressive disorder
- Generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, or social anxiety disorder
- Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge-eating disorder
- Body dysmorphic disorder
- Self-harm, cutting, or other non-suicidal self-injury
- Suicidal ideation, planning, or attempt requiring hospitalization
- Death by suicide (wrongful death claim)
- Severe sleep disorder with health consequences
Documented treatment: Records from a pediatrician, psychiatrist, psychologist, licensed counselor, or treatment facility documenting the diagnosis and care.
Causal link: Evidence that platform use contributed to or worsened the harm — through clinical records, school records, family observations, and timeline documentation.
If you are unsure whether your family qualifies, call us at 866-837-1010. Initial consultations are free, confidential, and carry no obligation.
What Compensation Can a Tennessee Family Recover?
Damages in a Tennessee social media addiction case depend on the severity of the injury and individual case facts. Tennessee law generally permits recovery for:
- Past and future medical and psychiatric expenses, including inpatient and residential treatment
- Past and future lost income and diminished earning capacity
- Past and future pain and suffering
- Mental anguish and emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium for parents and family members where applicable
- Wrongful death damages including pecuniary value of the decedent’s life under Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-5-113
- Punitive damages where the defendant acted with intent, fraud, malice, or recklessness — subject to Tennessee’s statutory caps (Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-39-104, capping punitive damages at the greater of two times compensatory damages or $500,000)
Tennessee also imposes statutory caps on non-economic damages in most personal injury cases (Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-39-102, generally capping non-economic damages at $750,000, with higher caps for catastrophic injuries). The application of these caps in social media addiction cases is being litigated.
What Is the Current Status of the Social Media Addiction Lawsuit?
- March 2026: Los Angeles jury returns $6 million verdict for plaintiff KGM against Meta and Google in first individual bellwether
- May 21, 2026: All four platforms settle Breathitt County (KY) federal school district bellwether before June 15 trial date
- June 2026: Approximately 2,700 individual personal injury cases pending in MDL 3047
- June 2026: Florida AG files state enforcement action against OpenAI, signaling expansion to AI-related social media claims
- Ongoing: California state court (JCCP 5255) bellwethers continuing; second-wave federal bellwethers being selected
What Evidence Do You Need for a Social Media Addiction Lawsuit?
Tennessee’s short statute of limitations makes immediate evidence preservation critical. Save:
- All mental health, pediatric, and counseling records documenting diagnosis and treatment
- School records — attendance, behavior, grades, counselor notes, disciplinary records
- Device screen-time data (iOS Screen Time, Android Digital Wellbeing, Google Family Link)
- In-app account history — Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, and YouTube all allow users to download account data
- Text messages, journal entries, social media posts, and notes from the affected period
- The device itself, where possible
- Photos and content that may be relevant to the injury
Do not delete accounts, wipe devices, or destroy records. Once lost, this evidence usually cannot be recovered.
Tennessee Cities We Serve
Our attorneys represent families across Tennessee, including Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Murfreesboro, Franklin, Jackson, Johnson City, Kingsport, Bartlett, Smyrna, Hendersonville, Brentwood, Germantown, Collierville, Cleveland, Cookeville, Oak Ridge, and Morristown. We are licensed to practice in Tennessee state courts and federal courts.
Frequently Asked Questions
My child only used social media for a year or two. Does that still qualify?
It depends on the intensity of use, the type and severity of the injury, and the documented connection between use and harm. Compulsive daily use over even a relatively short period can qualify if it produced documented psychiatric injury. Call us to discuss your specific facts.
Tennessee’s one-year deadline scares me. Is there any way around it?
There are limited tolling provisions — for minors, mentally incompetent persons, fraudulent concealment, and a defendant out of state. The discovery rule may delay the start of the clock until the injury was discovered (or reasonably should have been). And product liability claims have a longer window than typical personal injury. But you should not rely on tolling. Call us immediately to confirm the deadline that applies to your case.
My child had pre-existing anxiety. Will that prevent us from recovering?
No, but it will be an issue at trial. Pre-existing conditions do not bar recovery — they affect causation and damages analysis. Defendants will argue that pre-existing conditions caused the harm rather than platform use. Strong clinical documentation showing the timing and worsening of symptoms is critical.
Will my child have to give a deposition?
Most plaintiffs in the MDL are not deposed unless their case is selected as a bellwether. If your child is selected, we prepare them thoroughly and the deposition occurs in a controlled, professional setting with the parent present.
What if my child died by suicide?
If your child died by suicide, the personal representative of the estate may file a wrongful death claim. In Tennessee, wrongful death must be filed within one year of the date of death. The first step is opening an estate and being appointed personal representative. We can help with that process.
How are settlement amounts determined?
There is no public matrix yet. Settlement values will be informed by the next several bellwether outcomes. Factors include injury severity, treatment costs, duration of disability, evidence of causation, the platform(s) involved, and the user’s age and circumstances.
Do you handle Memphis cases too?
Yes. We represent families across Tennessee, including Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. We can meet by phone, video conference, or in person depending on what works best for your family.
My family already spoke with another firm. Can we switch?
You can change attorneys at any time before a case is fully resolved, though there may be lien obligations from the prior firm. Call us to discuss; we routinely handle these transitions.
Contact a Tennessee Social Media Addiction Lawyer Today
Tennessee’s one-year statute of limitations does not wait. If social media addiction harmed your child or family member, call Fob James Law Firm today at 866-837-1010 for a free, confidential case evaluation. We will tell you whether you have a viable claim, what the filing deadline is, and what evidence to preserve.
There is no cost to call. No obligation to proceed. And no fee unless we win.