Families across the country, including the State of Illinois, are taking legal action against social media companies for the harm their products have caused to children and adolescents. Individuals are filing civil lawsuits alleging platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube are harmful to the youth who are especially vulnerable to the addictive nature of social media. Thousands of claims are now working their way through the courts from rural counties like Madison County and St. Clair County to urban centers like Cook County.

Why These Cases Matter

These cases aim to protect young people from product designs geared to exploit developing 
brains and reward compulsive use. Lawsuits allege these companies designed features and algorithms that can be addictive, particularly to minors.  They are needed to change corporate behavior in this industry, which is generally unregulated.  Without the lawsuits and the significant financial penalties in terms of verdicts they will potentially impose, the social media companies will continue to view these harms simply as a cost of doing business. 

Who We're Investigating and Prosecuting

The largest and most prominent social media companies are the potential defendants.  These companies created and developed the platforms over the years, knowing (and counting on) their specific risk of harm to vulnerable children and adolescents. The group includes Google Inc. (YouTube), Meta Platforms, Inc. (Facebook and Instagram), Snap Inc. (Snapchat), and ByteDance Ltd. (TikTok).

Proof That Juries Are Listening

The first two cases to go to trial validated suspicions social media can be harmful to our children.  Both resulted in jury verdicts holding the companies that created the platforms responsible, and the juries awarded significant monetary awards against them.

Most recently, in late March of 2026, a bellwether verdict demonstrated the sustainability of these claims. In the Los Angeles K.G.M. v. Meta & YouTube bellwether trial, the jury found both Meta and Google/YouTube liable on all counts, awarding $3,000,000 in compensatory damages and an additional $3,000,000 in punitive damages, for a total of $6,000,000, to a single plaintiff.  The jury found that platform design was a “substantial factor” in causing specific harm, silencing critics who had questioned whether plaintiffs could prove the connection.

Our Approach

We focus on the child's personal experiences and harm, making that the basis of the case and examine how the product was designed and whether those choices contributed to harm.  We accomplish this by using expert evidence to show the impact on the child's health and well-being and analyze how the technology works behind the scenes.  Our firm pours significant time, money, and expert attention with the goal of getting the best outcome for the families involved.  We can't take every case, only the ones that are the strongest and have the most impact. 

What We Look For

If your child has experienced significant mental and physical effects tied to heavy use of social media, we can evaluate whether you may have a valid legal case.  We are actively seeking to bring lawsuits against the predominant social media platforms which could entitle you to compensation for the harm your child has suffered.  Our firm will like at how your child used the app and whether the app was designed in ways to encourage compulsive use.  We will pursue evidence from doctors and therapists showing that social media use contributed to the child's condition.

Take Action

We recognize that the idea of your child and family revisiting painful experiences in a lawsuit can feel overwhelming—you're not alone in that concern. Our attorneys are here to guide you through your options, protect your child's well-being, and seek compensation from social media companies for the harmful design and spread of their products.  You can contact us for a free, confidential consultation at (833) 381-6589 or submit a case evaluation request at www.bautistaleroystl.com for your Illinois social media case.  We represent families nationwide and charge no fee unless we recover for you.