Did you or a loved one begin using social media platforms and later experience serious mental-health effects -- anxiety, depression, an eating disorder, self-harm, suicidal ideation, or social media addiction? You may be eligible to take legal action.
Many individuals and families have raised concerns about the effect Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube have had on mental health and emotional wellbeing — especially where use began at a young age and became a major part of daily life. The feeds on these platforms are tuned by recommendation algorithms that learn what holds a user's attention and keep serving more of it: endless scroll, autoplay video, push notifications timed for re-engagement, and personalized content loops that can be difficult for a developing brain to step away from.
Internal company research, much of it made public in 2021 by former Meta employee Frances Haugen, has linked heavy use of these platforms to worsened body image, depression, and suicidal ideation in young users. Hundreds of individuals and families have since filed claims, and the cases have been consolidated in the federal Social Media Adolescent Addiction MDL in the Northern District of California, with the first bellwether trials expected to begin in 2026. State attorneys general and school districts have joined the litigation.
If a social media platform's design contributed to a serious mental-health crisis in you or someone you love, the law provides a path to accountability.
Every detail you share through this case review — your story, treatment records, and how the platforms affected you or your loved one — stays between you and our intake team. We do not sell, rent, or share your information with third parties, and your participation is never made public.
Damages vary by case, and every individual's and family's situation is different. Common categories of damages in social media harm matters include:
Therapy, counseling, psychiatric care, inpatient stays, medication, and follow-up treatment for anxiety, depression, an eating disorder, self-harm, or related diagnoses.
Long-term therapy, ongoing psychiatric treatment, residential or intensive outpatient programs, and recovery costs that continue beyond the current episode.
Wages lost to time off work, time spent caring for a loved one in crisis, and any lasting reduction in the ability to work or finish school.
Emotional distress, anxiety, humiliation, and the diminished quality of life caused by prolonged or harmful social media use.
Damages available to family members for the strain a severe mental-health crisis places on close relationships and daily life.
For families who lost a loved one to suicide: funeral and burial expenses, loss of future support, and loss of society and companionship.
In certain cases, social media platforms and other parties may be held accountable for addictive product design targeting young users, age-verification failures, inadequate parental controls, failure to warn of known harms, or concealment of internal research showing serious mental-health impact. Where the conduct is especially egregious, punitive damages may also be available.
See if You QualifyAt Kiesel Law LLP, we represent individuals and families who experienced serious mental-health effects after heavy social media use. Our attorneys work closely with clients, using thoughtful and practical strategies to protect your rights and pursue accountability where a platform's design targeted young users, ignored its own internal research, or failed to warn of known harms.
Our attorneys handle complex litigation involving consumer protection, data privacy, and harm caused by online platforms. The team reviewing your case has worked in this category before.
We come ready to take cases through to trial when defendants resist a fair resolution. The credible threat of trial is what drives settlements — and it's a posture not every firm can credibly hold.
You pay nothing up front and nothing during the case. Fees only apply if we recover compensation on your behalf.
This is an advertisement for the law firm Kiesel Law LLP, focused on handling claims and disputes related to injuries caused by Social Media Harm. The content on this webpage is provided for informational purposes only by Kiesel Law LLP. This site contains general information that may not be current, assumes certain findings of fact, and is for illustrative purposes only. Each case is unique, and a thorough review of your particular circumstances would be required to provide a proper assessment.