- Today
- Holidays
- Birthdays
- Reminders
- Cities
- Atlanta
- Austin
- Baltimore
- Berwyn
- Beverly Hills
- Birmingham
- Boston
- Brooklyn
- Buffalo
- Charlotte
- Chicago
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Columbus
- Dallas
- Denver
- Detroit
- Fort Worth
- Houston
- Indianapolis
- Knoxville
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Louisville
- Madison
- Memphis
- Miami
- Milwaukee
- Minneapolis
- Nashville
- New Orleans
- New York
- Omaha
- Orlando
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- Pittsburgh
- Portland
- Raleigh
- Richmond
- Rutherford
- Sacramento
- Salt Lake City
- San Antonio
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Jose
- Seattle
- Tampa
- Tucson
- Washington
California trial tests Big Tech liability for teen mental health
A 20-year-old woman's lawsuit against Meta and Google could pave the way for similar cases and shake the industry's legal defenses.
Published on Feb. 9, 2026
Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›
A California state court case over whether Instagram and YouTube harmed a 20-year-old woman's mental health through addictive app design kicks off on Feb. 9 with opening statements, in a test of whether Big Tech platforms can be held liable for harming kids. The woman, identified as K.G.M., filed the lawsuit against Facebook, Instagram parent company Meta Platforms, and Alphabet's Google, which owns YouTube, alleging the apps' attention-grabbing design got her addicted at a young age and fueled her depression and suicidal thoughts.
Why it matters
A verdict against the tech companies could smooth the way for similar cases in state court and shake the industry's longstanding U.S. legal defense against claims of user harm. The wave of litigation in the U.S. is part of a global backlash against social media platforms over children's mental health, with some countries already prohibiting access for users under 16.
The details
K.G.M. is seeking to hold the companies liable, alleging they were negligent in their app design, failed to warn the public about the risks, and that the platforms were a substantial factor in her injuries. Meta and Google plan to defend themselves by pointing to other factors in K.G.M.'s life, laying out their work on youth safety, and trying to distance themselves from harmful user-generated content.
- The California state court case kicks off on February 9, 2026 with opening statements.
- The trial is likely to stretch into March 2026.
The players
K.G.M.
A 20-year-old woman who filed the lawsuit against Meta Platforms and Google, alleging their Instagram and YouTube platforms harmed her mental health through addictive app design.
Meta Platforms
The parent company of Facebook and Instagram, which is a defendant in the lawsuit.
Alphabet
The parent company of Google, which owns YouTube and is also a defendant in the lawsuit.
Mark Zuckerberg
The CEO of Meta Platforms, who is expected to be called as a witness at the trial.
What’s next
The judge overseeing the more than 2,300 similar lawsuits filed in federal court is weighing the companies' liability protections ahead of the first trial over the claims, which could happen as early as June 2026.
The takeaway
This case represents a significant test of whether Big Tech platforms can be held liable for the mental health impacts of their products on young users, potentially opening the door for a wave of similar lawsuits and challenging the industry's long-standing legal defenses.
