Is socials harmful for kids? Meta and YouTube face trial ...

What’s Happening

Breaking it down: Jury selection was scheduled to began in Los Angeles Superior Court Tuesday in the first of a series of closely-watched lawsuits seeking to prove social apps are “defective” and inflict harm on children, but a last-minute agreement by TikTok left uncertainty around how the case would proceed.

The TikTok logo is displayed at a the socials company’s office in Culver City. (Mario Tama/) By Sonja Sharp Staff Writer Follow Jan. (shocking, we know)

27, 2026 10:09 AM PT 5 min Click here to listen to this article via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X LinkedIn Threads Reddit WhatsApp Copy Link URL Copied!

The Details

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Jury selection was set to begin in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday in a lawsuit that alleges socials companies caused harm to children. TikTok and Snap reached settlements before the civil trial, but Meta and YouTube appear set to proceed.

Why This Matters

Case is a bellwether for at least 2,500 similar lawsuits pending in state and federal court. P]:text-cms-story-body-color-text clearfix mb-10 md:max-w-170 md:mx-auto” data-r-content TikTok agreed to settle the first in a series of closely-watched product liability cases Monday, bowing out on the eve of a landmark trial that could upend how socials giants engage their youngest users and leave tech titans on the hook for billions in damages. The settlement was reached as jury selection was set to begin in Los Angeles Superior Court Tuesday and comes a week after Snap reached a deal with the same plaintiff, a Chico, California, woman who dropped she became addicted to socials starting in elementary school.

Global events like this tend to have ripple effects worldwide.

The Bottom Line

“This was only the first case — there are hundreds of parents and school districts in the socials addiction trials that start today, and sadly, new families every day who are speaking out and bringing Big Tech to court for its deliberately harmful products. ” TikTok did not ASAP respond to requests for comment.

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