Four US Families Sue Meta, TikTok, Snap and Google Over Child Deaths

A new legal action seeks to hold major social media companies accountable for alleged harm to young users. The Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC) has brought a lawsuit against Meta, TikTok, Snap and Google, saying the firms make addictive and unsafe products that contributed to the deaths of four minors.

The complaint accuses the companies of ignoring repeated warnings from their own researchers, hiding evidence of harm, and engineering systems that targeted minors during moments of psychological vulnerability. The platforms are also said to track user behavior to push content such as diet and beauty advertisements, appearance-changing filters, and social comparison features, allegedly leading to depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts — all in the name of boosting engagement.

The deaths tied to the case occurred between July 2024 and September 2025 in Texas, North Carolina, Minnesota and Tennessee. SMVLC filed the lawsuit in Delaware after internal documents from these companies were unsealed in separate court proceedings.

Engadget reached out to the companies for comment. A Google spokesperson said in a statement that providing young people with a safer, healthier experience is core to their work, citing collaboration with mental health and parenting experts to build age-appropriate services and robust parental controls. The spokesperson also expressed sympathy for the affected families and noted that the claims are under review.

This lawsuit follows other similar legal challenges. Earlier this summer, four US states sued Meta over allegedly addictive designs on Facebook and Instagram. A month prior, Meta, Snap and TikTok each separately settled a social media addiction lawsuit brought by a Kentucky school district.