Efforts to Combat Social Media Addiction – What You Need to Know

The rise of social media platforms has brought growing concerns about screen addiction, particularly among adolescents. Unsurprisingly, this issue has sparked lawsuits against major technology companies upon allegations that they design their platforms to be addictive and harmful to mental health. As of February 2025, over 1,200 cases have been consolidated into a Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) in the Northern District of California, overseen by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. Multidistrict Litigation is designed to streamline lawsuits that involve nationwide exposure to the same or similar harmful products to promote efficient use of judicial and other resources. These social media lawsuits claim that companies like Meta (formerly Facebook), TikTok, and others employ design features to stay engaged with their platforms, which markedly contributes to anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems, particularly among young users.

School districts are starting to join the fight, filing their own lawsuits against social media companies over what they contend is a youth mental health crisis. One such district, the Houston Independent School District,  has joined a national lawsuit against Meta, Snap, and ByteDance over claims that these platforms are deliberately designed and attuned to maximize screen time and encourage addictive behavior. The district also alleges that these platforms have decreased attention spans, reduced critical thinking capacities, and increased mental health problems amongst the student body. Elsewhere, California has sought to address the problem through legislative action. Set to take effect in 2027, California has passed a law prohibits social media platforms from offering addictive content to minors without parental consent. The law also restricts notifications between midnight and 6 a.m., and during school hours, and requires children’s accounts be set to private by default.

Given the ever-growing prevalence of social media platforms in our daily lives, we are likely to see more efforts like this in hopes of striking an appropriate balance and gaining a healthier approach to such apps. In the meantime if you believe your or your child’s health is being harmed by addictive social media apps, you should contact an experienced law firm right away to explore your rights.