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6d ago

Families Sue Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube Over Deaths of Four Teens

Plaintiffs allege addictive product design and internal knowledge of harm will put the platforms to test in courts handling multiple related trials and verdicts.

FILE - This combination of 2017-2022 photos shows the logos of Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat on mobile devices. On Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, Seattle Public Schools filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court, suing the tech giants behind TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat, seeking to hold them accountable for the mental health crisis among youth. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - A group holds hands outside a landmark trial over whether social media platforms deliberately addict and harm children, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun, File)
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Overview

  • The Social Media Victims Law Center filed the complaint Thursday in the Superior Court of Delaware on behalf of four families from Minnesota, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
  • The suit names Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube and identifies the teens as Livi Castro (13), Riv Kelleher (14), Nathaniel Chambers (17) and Dawson Holden (18), who died between July 2024 and September 2025.
  • Plaintiffs say the children suffered social media addiction, severe sleep loss, depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts after years of using the platforms and that company design choices and internal knowledge caused those harms.
  • The filing arrives as Meta faces a state trial in Tennessee and a federal trial in Oakland next month, follows recent jury verdicts and settlements, and adds legal pressure that Meta says has driven billions in company legal costs this quarter.
  • Advocates and lawyers point to stalled federal action on child safety — the Senate passed the Kids Online Safety Act two years ago but the House did not vote on that version — and say courts are now the main path for accountability.