
More cases continue to be added to the Adolescent Social Media Addiction MDL. There are now 1,246 pending actions, including those against Google's Youtube.
Active case
People are suing YouTube parent company Alphabet Inc. for causing them mental health harm. They claim YouTube encourages social media addiction in minors to increase profits.
Connect with an attorney Check EligibilityActive case
Alphabet is facing social media lawsuits claiming YouTube harmed users’ mental health. The lawsuits allege that YouTube deliberately attempts to make its users and content creators become addicted to the platform. Plaintiffs in these lawsuits also claim that YouTube and other social media platforms target minors, with little regard for the emotional well-being of this demographic. If you as a minor or your child have suffered harm following YouTube exposure and addiction, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit.
People are filing YouTube lawsuits because they believe the platform’s design:
Plaintiffs’ attorneys also allege that parent company Alphabet Inc. doesn’t provide adequate parental warning of potential dangers.
If you have been harmed or your child has been harmed by defects in the YouTube platform, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit.
Complete this form to explore your options and get a case evaluation from a social media litigation attorney.
As of February 3, 2025, 1,246 plaintiffs had filed mental health lawsuits against social media companies, including YouTube. The U.S. court system has grouped these claims into a multidistrict litigation (MDL) docket. The defendants in the litigation case (MDL 3047) include:
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is overseeing the MDL.
Multidistrict litigation (MDL) is a federal court action that consolidates similar cases to help the courts operate more smoothly.
Unlike class action lawsuits, MDLs allow cases to be tried individually. Plaintiffs have their own lawyers in addition to lead counsel and don’t always share settlements equally.
Who can file a social media harm lawsuit? Parents or guardians can file a lawsuit against social media companies on behalf of their minor children who suffered mental health harms such as suicidal ideation, eating disorders and depression requiring hospitalization. Young adults can also file a lawsuit if they were minors when their trauma was diagnosed or treated.
Plaintiffs claim YouTube caused a myriad of mental and physical harms, including:
If you’re facing a mental health crisis or your child is facing one, seek help immediately. These national resources are ready to assist you at any time:
YouTube features content such as toy reviews, makeup tutorials and comedy videos, all geared toward children. Alphabet once claimed that YouTube “is today’s Saturday morning cartoons” and the favorite site for children ages 2 to 12.
Keeping users on the site is vital to YouTube’s global advertising revenue, which topped $31.5 billion in 2023. Alphabet executives and website designers are accused of deliberately using their knowledge of human behavior and psychology to keep users on the platform. They are also believed to have knowingly targeted “the addiction capabilities of every human,” including minors.
Here are a few potential dangers that children face while on the YouTube platform.
YouTube makes it easy for children to enter what experts call a “flow state” — a nearly trance-like condition where staying on the platform requires less physical effort than moving to a different activity. Hours can pass if children are allowed to keep scrolling, with no intervention. This can also impact a user’s sleep habits.
Intermittent variable rewards (IVRs) on social media platforms refer to engagement metrics, such as likes, comments and subscriptions. For creators, this type of engagement can lead to more dopamine in the brain, resulting in a rush of pleasure and validation for their work.
Additionally, as creators acquire more followers, they may earn more money for their work and thus become further incentivized to engage with the platform.
Researchers have found that the unpredictability of IVRs may magnify a content creator’s resulting pleasure. Children are particularly vulnerable to IVRs.
Likes and positive comments may trigger a release in dopamine for non-creators, as well.
A parasocial relationship is a one-sided relationship in which a content consumer may develop an attachment to a creator or influencer. Some social media creators leverage and foster parasocial relationships with their fan base, creating the appearance of an authentic personal relationship.
These influencers will cultivate these relationships and encourage their followers to consume, share and interact with their content. In doing so, YouTube creators can improve their engagement statistics and increase their revenue on the platform.
Unfortunately, such parasocial relationships can be detrimental to young users on the platform. Google’s own research shows that 40% of teens believe their favorite YouTube celebrities understand them better than their in-person friends do.
Some researchers are concerned that YouTube exposes minors to extreme viewpoints. A 2024 Irish study created 10 fake profiles for social media platforms, including YouTube. Researchers set up fake accounts on both YouTube and TikTok while acting as 16- and 18-year-old males. Additionally, they created a blank account to use as a control.
Using half of the profiles, the researchers searched for a “gender-normative” video game, sports and fitness content on the platforms. Using the remaining profiles, the researchers looked up misogynistic content.
Within 26 minutes of starting the experiment, the YouTube algorithm recommended misogynistic content for all the accounts, no matter the search pattern.
Alphabet collects a massive amount of information about YouTube users. By using the platform, children provide the company with data such as:
Alphabet uses this data to micro-target users for advertisers. The YouTube parent company also collects information when users aren’t on the YouTube platform.
Read more about why parents are concerned about their children using social media.
YouTube is built to keep users engaged, no matter the impact on their mental health. Researchers believe children are less equipped to combat the techniques social media platforms use to keep users scrolling.
Let’s discuss specific features that may impact children’s mental health by keeping them engaged with YouTube videos.
Any person with access to the Internet can view YouTube content, which doesn’t require having an account. The platform does not ask users to verify their age before they can view certain types of content.
YouTube is also preloaded on many smart televisions and streaming devices.
These factors make it easy for children to access YouTube and its harmful features.
YouTube Shorts are short videos that are easy to watch on mobile devices.
The platform uses its algorithms to organize suggestions that encourage increased watch time. Essentially, the algorithm aims to serve users an endless stream of interesting content to promote continued and uninterrupted engagement.
This feature prompts children to scroll for hours, which can affect their sleeping habits, academic performance and interpersonal relationships.
Likes and comments can impact young YouTube creators as well as their audience. Receiving a like or comment triggers the release of dopamine in the brain, keeping users engaged.
Along with dopamine is a financial incentive. The likes and comments that creators receive are vital to their efforts to monetize their content. Once a creator reaches a certain status, the platform rewards them with access to the YouTube Partner Program. Through this program, users can also show support for creators. This invites social comparison among content creators and users alike.
The Recommended and Autoplay features provide YouTube with an effective tandem attack for keeping users engaged.
The Recommended panel appears on the site’s home page as well as in the Up Next panel after a user views a video.
Meanwhile, Autoplay provides a constant stream of video without requiring users to take any action. Consequently, it’s easy for children to slip into the flow state of endless scrolling.
If you have been harmed or your child has been harmed by defects in the YouTube platform, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit.
Complete this form to explore your options and get a case evaluation from a social media litigation attorney.
No individual lawsuits in the YouTube MDL have gone to trial or been settled.
2.04.25
More cases continue to be added to the Adolescent Social Media Addiction MDL. There are now 1,246 pending actions, including those against Google's Youtube.
1.03.25
Pending actions in the social media harm MDL grew to 974 as of January 2.
12.01.24
The number of plaintiffs in MDL-3047 increased to 815.
10.25.24
U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled in October 2024 that lawsuits filed by school districts could proceed as part of MDL 3047 against Google and other companies involved in social media. YouTube is owned by Google, which is a subsidiary of Alphabet – a publicly traded company established in 2015.
Schools districts have filed suits alleging that the design of social media apps have caused mental health harm to students in the schools’ communities. These mental health issues have led to disruptions throughout schools and resulted in increased costs as districts try to help their students navigate the negative influence of social media.
09.01.24
The number of plaintiffs in MDL-3047 grew to 584. The MDL included 393 plaintiffs as of January 2024.
08.01.24
On August 1, the number of plaintiffs in MDL-3047 was 557.
07.30.24
The U.S. Senate passed the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act. If this legislation passes in the U.S. House of Representatives, social media platforms will have to take reasonable measures to improve parental control over their children’s social media use and reduce social media-related harm to teens and children.
06.08.24
Legislators in New York passed two major bills into law to address how social media companies can exploit children. The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) For Kids Act requires thorough verification of the user’s age, as well as parental consent in certain cases. The legislation also contains other protections for minors who use social media platforms.
The New York Child Data Protection Act regulates social media sites’ ability to collect, sell and share the data of minors.
01.04.24
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers set a pretrial schedule to select the first bellwether trials for MDL-3047.
02.01.23
Attorneys representing plaintiffs in MDL-3047 filed a master complaint.
11.2022
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers approved a leadership team for MDL 3047. Motley Rice attorney Previn Warren was named the team’s co-lead counsel.
10.2022
The U.S. courts consolidated lawsuits against TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and other social media platforms into an MDL docket.
03.2022
Attorneys general from 44 states and territories wrote to social media companies’ legal counsel to open a discussion about the lack of parental controls on popular platforms.
Here are answers to some questions that people often ask about the lawsuits against YouTube.
No, there isn’t a class action lawsuit against YouTube for mental health harm. However, many mental health-related social media lawsuits have been consolidated as multidistrict litigation (MDL). The plaintiffs in MDL 3047 allege their mental health suffered due to their usage of social media platforms.
MDLs are similar to class action lawsuits because they group similar cases together. Class action suits differ from MDLs in how the courts handle trials and settlements, however.
You might be eligible to file a mental health lawsuit against YouTube if:
A social media lawyer at Motley Rice can provide a case evaluation and explain your legal options.
For decades, families and individuals have turned to Motley Rice for help in standing up to big tech companies. We’ve represented people who have reason to think they have been harmed by social media companies like Alphabet.
If you believe a social media company caused a mental health crisis for you or your child, we might be able to help you file a lawsuit.
Important updates about YouTube lawsuits
Key takeaways
Why are people filing mental health lawsuits against YouTube?
Harms alleged by people suing YouTube
How does YouTube affect children?
YouTube features that may impact kids' and teens' mental health
What's the status of the individual lawsuits against YouTube?
YouTube mental health lawsuit timeline
Frequently asked questions about suing YouTube
Our experience helping families stand against technology companies