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Thornton Today
By the People, for the People
Verdicts Against Meta, YouTube Celebrated by Mother Whose Son Died After Buying Drugs on Snapchat
Kim Osterman says her son Max's death highlights the need for social media platforms to implement strict guardrails to protect minors.
Mar. 27, 2026 at 3:04am
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A Colorado woman whose 18-year-old son Max died in 2021 after purchasing fentanyl-laced pills from a dealer he connected with on Snapchat is celebrating recent verdicts against Meta and YouTube. Kim Osterman says the platforms must be held accountable for designing their services to hook young users, putting profits over safety. She is part of a group advocating for federal legislation that would require social media companies to take reasonable steps to prevent harm to minors on their platforms.
Why it matters
Osterman's case highlights the growing willingness to hold major social media companies responsible for the harms their platforms can cause, especially to young users. The recent verdicts against Meta and YouTube are expected to open the door for more lawsuits and regulations targeting tech companies that prioritize engagement over user safety.
The details
According to Osterman, her son Max arranged to meet a drug dealer he connected with on Snapchat and purchased what he thought was Percocet. The pill was laced with a deadly dose of fentanyl, and Max died the next morning. Osterman is pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit separate from the cases decided this week, in which juries found both YouTube and Meta liable for harms to children due to the design of their platforms. Snapchat's parent company, Snap Inc., settled for an undisclosed sum in January just before the Los Angeles trial began, and TikTok also agreed to settle.
- Max Osterman died in 2021 at the age of 18.
- The man who sold the fatal pill to Max, Sergio Guerra-Carrillo, was sentenced to six years in prison on two distribution charges in 2023.
- On Wednesday, March 26, 2026, a jury in Los Angeles found both YouTube and Meta liable for harms to children for designing their platforms to hook young users.
- Also on Wednesday, March 26, 2026, a jury in New Mexico determined that Meta knowingly harmed children's mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms.
The players
Kim Osterman
The mother of Max Osterman, who died in 2021 at age 18 after purchasing fentanyl-laced pills from a dealer he connected with on Snapchat. Osterman is celebrating recent verdicts against Meta and YouTube and is part of a group advocating for federal legislation to protect minors on social media platforms.
Max Osterman
Kim Osterman's 18-year-old son, who died in 2021 after purchasing fentanyl-laced pills from a dealer he connected with on Snapchat.
Sergio Guerra-Carrillo
The man who sold the fatal pill to Max Osterman, sentenced to six years in prison on two distribution charges in 2023.
Meta
The parent company of social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram, found liable by a jury in Los Angeles for harms to children due to the design of its platforms.
YouTube
The video-sharing platform, also found liable by a jury in Los Angeles for harms to children due to the design of its platform.
What they’re saying
“The truth is out, and it's time that they are held accountable for the design of the platforms. They put profits over safety.”
— Kim Osterman
“You think your kids are safe in their home, in their bedroom, but that's not the way it is with the current status of social media.”
— Kim Osterman
What’s next
Osterman hopes to see social media companies enact strict guardrails, such as age verification technology, to prevent anyone under 18 from accessing their platforms. She also continues to advocate for the Kids Online Safety Act, pending federal legislation that would require social media platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent harm to minors.
The takeaway
The verdicts against Meta and YouTube demonstrate a growing willingness to hold major social media companies accountable for the harms their platforms can cause, especially to young users. Osterman's case highlights the urgent need for these companies to prioritize user safety over profits and implement meaningful safeguards to protect minors.
