“Platforms Keep Killing”: Major Lawsuit Filed Against TikTok, Meta, and YouTube

The families of four teenagers who took their own lives are suing tech giants, claiming that addiction to the apps pushed their children to suicide. The lawsuit joins a wave of legal proceedings alleging that the companies prioritize profits over human lives.

The lawsuit, filed on Thursday in the Delaware Supreme Court, is the new front in a growing wave of lawsuits against social media giants, which are accused of making their platforms knowingly addictive and dangerous. The complaint was filed on behalf of four families from Texas, North Carolina, Minnesota, and Tennessee, whose children took their own lives over a 14-month period, from July 2024 to September 2025.

Attorney Matthew Bergman, founder of the "Social Media Victims Law Center" representing the families, noted that the fact that the children in this case died long after similar lawsuits had already been filed makes this case particularly significant.

"These platforms continue to kill children, despite the arrogant clichés of their executives," said Bergman. "This is a clear and immediate danger to the health and well-being of children, not only in the United States but around the entire world."

Suicidality and extreme sleep deprivation

According to the lawsuit, the four teenagers — Libby Castro (13), Reeve Kelleher (14), Nathaniel Chambers (17), and Dawson Holden (18) — experienced severe harm that included addiction to social media, extreme sleep deprivation, depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts after years of using the apps. The plaintiffs claim that the companies knew full well that they were causing harm to young users but chose to ignore it.

A spokesperson for Google, which owns YouTube, said in response to the AP agency: "Providing a safer and healthier experience for young people has always been at the core of our work. In partnership with mental health and parenting experts, we have built services and policies to provide young people with age-appropriate experiences, and parents with strong controls. We extend our deepest condolences to the families and are reviewing the claims in this lawsuit." Representatives for Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat have not yet provided a response.

Legislation is stuck, fines are piling up

Behind the lawsuit is growing frustration with the foot-dragging of the American legislator. Sasha Haworth, CEO of the "Tech Oversight Project," noted that parents, activists, and whistleblowers have been meeting with legislators for years, but "while Congress dragged its feet, more children died."

The Senate did pass the "Kids Online Safety Act" (KOSA) exactly two years ago, but the House of Representatives never voted on that version, and today there are deep disagreements between the two houses of Congress regarding key clauses in the law. "The stories of Libby, Nathaniel, Dawson, and Reeve are proof that Big Tech companies continue to lie about the safety of their products and choose to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into false advertising and political lobbying," Haworth attacked.

At the same time, Meta is facing a trial this week in Tennessee where it is alleged that it intentionally designed Instagram to be addictive to young people, without warning about the dangers. This coming August, the company is expected to face a federal trial in Oakland, California, against several US states, claiming that it violated federal law when it collected data on children under 13 without parental consent.

Although not all lawsuits are successful (just last week a teenager from Florida dropped a lawsuit against Meta without compensation), the legal battle is taking a huge financial toll: earlier this week, Meta reported extraordinary legal expenses of $2.4 billion in the second quarter, which contributed to a rare 14% drop in its profits.